A first ever study conducted by conservation biologist Sanjay Gubbi of the Nature Conservation Foundation at the Male Mahadeshwara (MM Hills) Wildlife Sanctuary and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, traditionally not known for tigers in Karnataka has found high density of tiger population, which has added to the tiger population in the State.
Sanjay Gubbi, who led the camera trapping exercise, says the time is ripe to declare the areas as tiger reserve. According to him this is the first time the population of the endangered species has been enumerated in these regions.
Sanjay Gubbi said, “What is encouraging is that sub-adult population, cubs below the age of two, were found in MM Hills Park. This means that there is breeding and a healthy population in the area…These big cat numbers are larger than that in most declared tiger reserves.”
The study points out that large presence of prey species seen in the camera trap also gives further credence to the viable tiger habitats of the parks. Sambars, wild pig and gaur were found in MM Hills; while, chital, four-horned antelope and wild pig dotted the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuaries, making the landscape suitable for the large cats.
As part of the study the camera trap set up in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary not only offered a glimpse of the elusive honey badger, for the first time in Karnataka, but also netted nearly 20 poachers, including Sarvanana, a notorious elephant poacher, said Sanjay Gubbi, who spearheaded the study.
Though the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had given an in-principal approval for the declaration of the two sanctuaries as a tiger reserve a year ago, the State Government is yet to declare it as Tiger reserves. Chamarajanagar district in-charge Minister HS Mahadeva Prasad said the opinions of locals would be taken before extending complete support for the proposal.
The study shows 1,933 sq-km covered with camera-trappings has found a healthy tiger population in the two protected areas. While at MM Hills, 12 tigers were discovered, two were documented at Cauvery . “These areas have the potential to double their tiger count within five years, as a lot of them are young,” said Sanjay Gubbi.
The findings clearly indicate that the two protected areas, located in the confluence of the Eastern and Western Ghats, have scope for adequate funding and more protection under the Project Tiger initiative.
This study reveals of a healthy population of 14-15 tigers in the contiguous sanctuaries of Male Mahadeshwara (MM hills) Wildlife Sanctuary and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS) in Chamrajnagara districts in Karnataka. These two protected areas (PAs) were not included in the National Tiger Estimation exercise of the Wildlife Institute of India in 2014.
With Karnataka leading in the country with an estimated population of 406 tigers, it may once add to the process of conservation efforts. According to Gubbi a total number total of 809 camera trap locations were selected resulting in more than 11,000 trap days and 112 tiger images.
The Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF), which carried out the studies between Jan-March 2014 (CWS) and Nov-Jan 2015 (MM Hills), has come out with ‘unique identification pictures’ of each and every tiger across an area of 1,933 square kilometres.
According to Sanjay Gubbi, through capture-recapture methodology, reliable baseline data on large carnivores has emerged. Photos of tigers with their unique stripes on both the left and right flanks is the most accepted methodology and these findings would substantiate in declaring these two PAs as a single tiger reserve.
He added, “It is heartening that the confluence of the Western and Eastern Ghats that had been under the long terror reign of Veerappan for decades, is today a haven for big carnivores with good prey availability.” It is now the State Government which has to decide and declare these two places as tiger sanctuaries.