Srivilliputhur–Megamalai Tiger Reserve in TN approved
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The proposal seeks to declare 1.48 lakh hectares of land for the reserve, which would be the fifth for the large cats in TN
The Central authorities has given its approval for the creation of a fifth tiger reserve in Tamil Nadu that may embody the Meghamalai and Srivilliputhur Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuaries.
For almost a decade now, environmental activists have been in search of a tiger reserve linking these two sanctuaries, adjoining the Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala, after which to attach it with the Tirunelveli Wildlife Sanctuary, after which to Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve to make it a contiguous hall the place the large cats can thrive.
The Forest Department’s proposal was to declare 1.48 lakh hectares of land encompassing Meghamalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Srivilliputhur Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary and Tirunelveli Wildlife Sanctuary as Tamil Nadu’s fifth tiger reserve.
A senior wildlife official right here confirmed that the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has approved the brand new tiger reserve. After the Central authorities’s notification, the State authorities will notify its fifth tiger reserve, he mentioned.
The proposal states that the brand new tiger reserve won’t solely result in wildlife safety of the nation’s flagship species however may also consequence in the rejuvenation of the Vaigai river by defending the river’s origins in these forests.
“With the creation of Periyar and Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserves, the water needs of several southern districts have mostly been taken care of. With the new Srivilliputhur – Megamalai Tiger Reserve, the forests will be better protected and the rivers and streams will start flowing again,” says T.S. Subramaniya Raja of Wildlife Association of Rajasthan.
According to a report by the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) which beneficial the growth of Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuary, direct and oblique proof of tigers have been largely restricted to the western plateau of the panorama.
Noting that the realm additionally skilled extreme interruption of native residents for cattle grazing which elevated the possibility of spreading ailments from cattle to wild ungulates, the SACON scientists cautioned that this might grow to be a severe difficulty for the prey base of tigers.
Forest officers have observed 14 tigers usually in each the wildlife sanctuaries. As younger tigers teem in the Periyar Tiger Reserve, the spill-over impact is already being observed in these sanctuaries which have been performing as buffer zones until now.
