After tigers have been sighted for over six months in the forests of Pilibhit district, wildlife experts are trying to determine the reasons and conditions, which have allowed the big cats to extend their territory in the area.
For the next three months, a team of experts from the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) will camp in the Deoria range of Pilibhit district and Khutar range in Shahjehanpur. Along with officials from the state Forest department, they will conduct a survey and submit a report to the National Tiger Conservation Authority of India. At present, a two-member WTI team is already camping in Deoria range.
For the first time, a tiger were sighted in this range in May. It attacked a man, who had entered the jungle in search of drift wood. The camera trap method confirmed the presence of a cub and three adult tigers in the area.
Between May and July, the maneater tiger attacked eight persons and travelled from Deoria Kalan in Pilibhit to Bilandapur in Shahjehanpur, Mohammadi in South Kheri and Shahbad range in Hardoi. It was finally tranquilised and caught from Hirasing Nangla in Farukkhabad district on October 14.
“The WTI is collaborating with us for the Uttar Pradesh Tiger Conservation Project. Their experts had also helped us in catching the maneater. As part of the tiger status monitoring exercise, they will now conduct a survey,” said Pilibhit Divisional Forest Officer V K Singh.
The WTI team members, along with with Forest officials, will not only study the movement of tigers, but also the increase in population of smaller animals in the area. “There must be an increase in the population of smaller animals, as a tiger needs sufficient prey to make an area its territory,” added Singh.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/experts-to-study-causes-of-tiger-sightings-in-pilibhit/701428/
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