It’s that time of the year when people try to remain indoors, and animals in the wild venture out in search of food and water.
With the mercury rising gradually, as Nalgonda recorded 39 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, wild animals are spotted often, said forest officials.
The Amrabad Tiger Reserve (ATR) in Nagarjunasagar division has been fitted with 50 camera traps to monitor and evaluate wild animals and their routine. And in the past fortnight, there has been good sightings of animals, said officials. This development, however, is attributed to scarcity of water in the forest. Barring a few incidents of ‘unidentified animals’ attacking sheep and cattle in villages around the forest area, there have not been major events, the officials added.
To quench their thirst, 150 artificial saucer pits have been built in the forest area, said Divisional Forest Officer G. Ravi.
As per the terrain and logistics, a 4x4 km grid system developed in the division is useful in providing water for animals, he said.
The latest camera trap images at the ATR show a wide variety of fauna, including leopards, spotted deer, black bucks, sloth bears, boars and monkeys, arriving at the saucer pits to drink water.
