TEAM HERALD
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PANJIM: The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) has directed the Goa government to submit its proposal to declare Mhadei wildlife sanctuary as a ‘tiger reserve’.
The demand has come at a time when wildlife enthusiasts~ particularly those working for tiger conservation~are up beat about the sighting of a tiger in the sanctuary, which appears to be a local predator.
Forest Department officials had clicked photographs of the tiger moving in the sanctuary, a fortnight ago. This is for the first time that direct and conclusive evidence has been found by the forest department officials about its presence.
Claims were made in the past about the presence of tigers by wildlife experts based on circumstantial evidence, such as sighting of pugmarks etc. However, the official line was that these tigers in Goa were migratory.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Union Minister for Environment and Forests, Jayanthi Natarajan spelled out the Centre’s initiative for conservation of the big cats in the coauntry. In her written reply, she said that Goa and four more states have been asked to submit proposals for demarcation of tiger reserves which include Maharashtra (Bor, Nagzira-Navegaon), Uttar Pradesh (Suhelwa), Chhattisgarh (Guru Ghasidas National Park) and Tamil Nadu (Sriviiliputhur grizzled giant squirrel/Megamalai wildlife sanctuaries / Varushanadu Valley).
The National Tiger Conservation Authority has given in-principle approval for tiger reserves in Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh), Ratapani (Madhya Pradesh), Sunabeda (Odisha), Mukundara Hills (Rajasthan) and Sathyamangalam (Tamil Nadu). The proposed Mukundara Hills tiger reserve constitutes three wildlife sanctuaries, including Darrah, Jawahar Sagar and Chambal.
In the past, the Goa government, while putting a proposal for inclusion of Goa region of Western Ghat in the World Heritage Site of UNESCO had admitted that Goa along with contiguous forests of Karnataka and Maharashtra is one of the best potential tiger habitats in this bio-diversity hotspot and therefore needs protection.
