After 2 decades, cameras click tiger in West Bengal's Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary

KOLKATA: After Neora Valley National Park and Buxa Tiger Reserve, another protected area in north Bengal, Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, has recorded presence of tigers in camera traps after more than two decades. Foresters, though, said indirect evidences of tiger were found in Mahananda even in 2010 when a census exercise was on. The last photographic record from the forest, a source said, was found in 1999 when an old tiger had sneaked into the Salugara Army Camp from the sanctuary.While the recent all-India tiger estimation exercise had mentioned about photo evidence from the sanctuary, the state forest department shared two pictures - clicked last year - on Tuesday with TOI. Bengal's chief wildlife warden Debal Roy said camera traps have clicked a few tiger images in the sanctuary. "The detailed tiger estimation report to be released in July is expected to have some population trend in north Bengal. Based on that we will take a call on deploying more camera traps at the park," he added. According to him, the hill region, particularly Neora Valley, has a link with Mahananda through Kalimpong. "Tigers from that region can come to Mahananda," he added. Additional principal chief conservator of forest (north Bengal) Ujjwal Ghosh said that they were not looking at these regions as potential tiger habitats. "Instead, we have been focusing on conservation of lesser-known animals in the region. The protection measures in last few years have yielded results and we are now getting pictures of tigers, too," he said.Conservationist Biswapriya Rahut said that indirect evidences such as scats were earlier found when a census was on at the sanctuary in 2010. According to him, deployment of camera traps are now finding the big cats' movement in the park. On being asked if it's possible for the tiger clicked in Buxa to move to Mahananda, Rahut said: "The habitat between Buxa and Mahananda is highly fragmented. So, it's unlikely. Rather, the roaming tigers of Bhutan-Neora can move to Mahananda through possible Teesta riverbed route," he said, adding that mainly surplus tigers from Bhutan and Greater Manas landscapes visit the north Bengal region."Tiger occupied habitat has increased in the NE hills landscape after recent photographic evidences of tiger from Buxa, Neora Valley and Mahananda of West Bengal. But, the region is facing threats such as habitat loss, poaching and human-wildlife conflict, which require more efforts for long-term conservation," said the recent all-India tiger estimation report.