Amid the gloomy COVID-19 situation, Maharashtra State has something to cheer about in the form of successful tiger conservation at the popular Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary located in Pandharkawda taluk of Yavatmal district, about 35 km from Adilabad district headquarters town on the NH 44. A tigress has delivered a litter of three cubs in November last enhancing the already swollen big cat population and authorities having initiated rather foolproof efforts in making the place safer for the wild animals in the wake of reports of tigers getting infected by coronavirus.
The safety aspect of tigers in Tipeshwar is all the more important as any infection could prove disastrous owing to the density of their population. The Sanctuary, spread over just 143 sq km of dry deciduous forest, is home to about 20 tigers of different ages and sizes and infection could spread comparatively faster.
Tipeshwar is closely linked to tiger conservation in Kawal Tiger Reserve (KTR) in former united Adilabad district in Telangana as the overflowing population in the former crosses over to the latter ambling through the corridor which links the two. A tigress which had crossed Penganga river demarcating the border between the two States and entered Bheempur forests, apparently headed towards KTR a couple of months ago is now back in the sanctuary in Maharashtra, according to sources.
“We were alert about the safety of the tigers even before reports of coronavirus infection started appearing in the media. The Sanctuary is in a state of complete lockdown now,” asserted Pandharkawda Divisional Forest Officer, Wildlife, Subhash Puranik.
“No outsider is allowed inside to prevent any infections. All the staff and workers required for monitoring the big cat population are also staying inside the Sanctuary,” he explained of the measures being taken under the lockdown.
Authorities are patrolling continuously and monitoring the movement of the tigers and other wildlife also with the help of the camera traps, especially those near the water holes. “We take a close look at the images to notice any abnormality in movement or health of the animals,” the DFO revealed of the standard procedure in conservation under such circumstances even as he shared the latest picture of a tigress clicked by him while on patrol.
