Twenty-three tigers have so far been counted in the Gundla Brahmeswaram Wildlife Sanctuary, located in Nallamala forests in Kurnool district. Of the 23, 17 are female and five are male and one cub. The officials began counting of the big cats in Nallamala on April 22, and the exercise is set to conclude in the last week of May.
Divisional Forest Officer of Nandyal Siva Shankar Reddy told The Hindu that the number is set to increase by the time the counting ends. The big cat numbers have been seeing a constant increase in the last 15 years, and it is expected to increase this year as well.
Red sanders smuggling
On red sanders smugglers, Chief Conservator of Forests K. Gopinath said the authorities were increasing vigilance and arresting smugglers under the P.D Act.
On the incident of a tiger run over by a train, Mr. Gopinath said the forest officials had asked the railways authorities to slow down trains and sound horn in the forest areas.
Funds
Mr. Reddy said ₹5.6 crore had been allotted for the development of forests in Nandyal division for 2019-20. The funds would be earmarked for base camps, fire protection, roads, communications, labs and other forest department schemes.
The Gundla Brahmeswaram Wildlife Sanctuary is located about 30 km from Nandyal, spread across over 1,194 sq. km. It is one of the last surviving tracts of pristine forests of Nallamala Hills, with varied habitat and Gundlakamma river flowing through it.
The counting exercise takes place every year and lasts for about 45 days.
First, a survey of tigers’ footprints is taken, and then camera traps are set up in areas where the officials suspect have noticeably high tiger activity.
