Amidst reports that tiger has been wiped out from Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan and Panna and Sanjay Tiger Reserves in Madhya Pradesh, here is a good news for conservationists. Pug marks of a tigress and a cub have been spotted for the first time in Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary in Goa.
Officials of the forest department, which is facing the music in a tiger poaching probe, spotted fresh pug marks in the decade-old sanctuary. The marks were only a short distance from the area where a tiger was allegedly killed by poachers in April this year.
Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) Shashi Kumar said that the sighting proved that the wildlife sanctuary had proved to be an ideal habitat for tigers. “The tigress was seen near the Anjunem dam. The pug marks found on the spot indicate that a tigress was walking her cub along the edge of the reservoir. It is a great sign considering the fact that tigers have disappeared from some of the top reserve forests in the country,” said Kumar.
The tigress might have migrated to Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary from adjoining forests of Maharashtra or Karnataka, which form a corridor with the sanctuary. “We never had any direct evidence about the existence of a tiger in our forests,” he said.
The Mhadei wildlife sanctuary is located in Goa’s northernmost Sattari taluka and is spread across 208 sq miles. It was notified in 1999.
