Karnataka’s Bandipur Tiger Reserve (BTR) is on high alert in the wake of reports of death of 10 domesticated animals over the past two weeks due to anthrax, a serious infectious disease, at Shivapura village located at the entrance of the tiger reserve.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has asked the BTR officials to be on their toes.
The NTCA has also asked officials to take all precautionary measures and provide vaccines and veterinary doctors.
“The alert has been issued to the BTR officials so that they should not be found wanting in case the disease takes a deadly proportion. The bacterium affects sheep, goat, cattle and buffaloes,” said DIG (NTCA) Sanjay Pathak. He said since the disease can infect humans as well as animals, they don’t want to take any chance. The BTR, spread over 912.04 square kilometre, has an estimated 107 to 134 tigers, which is second highest in India after Corbett Tiger Reserve (169 to 261) in Uttarakhand, according to the last 2014 tiger census.
The Shivapura village in Gundlupet taluk, 8 kilometre from Melkammanahalli, is at the entrance to the BTR where the national tiger census-2018 is going on.
Sanjay said the Bandipur, Nagarahole, Wayanad, Mudumalai and Sathyamangalam Tiger landscape is spread across States of Karnataka (Bandipur-Nagarahole), Tamil Nadu (Mudumalai-Sathyamangalam) and Kerala (Wayanad).
It is a fine example of managing inter-State Tiger Reserves for the long term conservation of tiger population. The northern side of the tiger reserve is surrounded by human dominated landscape with villages and agricultural lands.
In 2013, there was panic among forest officers after the death of cattle on the forest fringes of the BTR due to anthrax. Even though the disease did not claim any wildlife that year, in 2004, elephants had died at Nagarahole Tiger Reserve and in Sathyamangalam forest bordering the BTR.
Anthrax is a serious infectious disease caused by gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria. It can be found naturally in soil and commonly affects domestic and wild animals around the world. Although it is rare, people can get sick with anthrax if they come in contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products.