The census survey team reported having sighted a leopard, known to be a shy animal, on crossing the Rettaikaradu area in the Thirukkurunkudi range, while yet another team, which was trekking near Maanjolai above the Manimuthar dam, saw a leopard standing on a rock at a distance. The third enumeration team that was moving around Kadayam range happened to see a tiger - an astounding number of big cat sightings for a single day's work.
“This time the volunteers involved in the census were able to see a number of leopards, which shows that the predator's population has increased significantly. We firmly believe that the tiger population should also have gone up as we've got interesting and highly encouraging findings in certain areas of KMTR," said K. Sekar, Deputy Director, Kalakkad - Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve's Kalakkad Division.
Though the tiger reserve has a sizeable population of gaur, sambar and spotted deer, the most preferred prey for the tiger and leopard, ecologists here feel that the existing prey base should be strengthened further. Citing a similar situation in the past, when the leopard population increased in the Tirupathi hills, forest officials argue that steps can be taken to strengthen the prey base by tranquillising and shifting hundreds of spotted deer, now struggling to find adequate food and shelter at Gangaikondan, to the Mundanthurai area of KMTR. “We have an adequate number of officials, who are well-trained in tranquillising and transporting the sedated animals in disguised vehicles to Western Ghats during the night. If the government approves this proposal, we can expect an improved ecosystem in KMTR in future," said a senior forest official.
Source: Sanctuary Asia.
