Wildlife lovers would be happy that for the first time, a tiger has been spotted in the Juniyani forest under the lefripada Forest Range in Sundargarh district.
Sundargarh DFO Dr Arun Kumar Mishra said the presence of a tiger in the forest could not be traced earlier as there was no camera traps deployed here during the tiger census in the district last year. “But judging from the pugmarks, it is now certain that there is one tiger in this forest area.
“From the camera traps installed in different pockets of the Juniyani forest during the tiger census this year, we found that there are 12 leopards in these forest ranges,” he told media.
“Presence of tiger makes it amply clear that there are enough deer, sambhara, wild boars, antelopes including elephants, bears, peacocks and monkeys in these forest ranges. The Forest Department has taken necessary measures to intensify inter-State patrolling in the Juniyani and Taragada forest ranges bordering Chhattisgarh. The department has decided to set up two protection camps in the Dangakhol forest under the Hemgiri forest range and Juniyani forest in October this year. Efforts are on to make provision for solar lights, VHFs and watchtowers for these two camps. Besides, work on creation of new water bodies and development of meadows would also be taken up near the camp area,” Mishra said.