Demand to grant tiger reserve status to Nandhaur sanctuary

Rishikesh, April 15

With the number of tigers steadily on the rise at the Nandhaur Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttarakhand, the authorities feel upgrading it to a tiger reserve is necessary for the conservation of tigers at the facility.

“The number of tigers at the sanctuary when it came into being in 2012 was nine which rose to 27 in 2018. The number is set to cross 32 this year,” said director of the sanctuary NN Pandey.

The sanctuary is situated close to the Nandhaur river in the Kumaon region and spread over an area of 269.5 sq km.

The official said the steady rise in the tiger population over the years and the growing trend indicated that the sanctuary with the limited resources at its disposal might not be able to efficiently handle its responsibilities for long.

“Though the Wildlife Institute of India and the Forest Department are working hard with financial help from the Zoological Society of London to maintain the sanctuary as a safe habitat for tigers, the task may get difficult in the long run,” said Pandey.

He said the situation became rather delicate from the point of view of tiger conservation as the sanctuary at present did not come formally under the ambit of the National Tiger Conservation Authority.

The state government could play a role in its elevation as a tiger reserve so that it received funds from the Centre and the expertise of national-level zoological scientists to conserve the growing population of tigers at the sanctuary, the official said.

Advocating a tiger reserve status for the sanctuary, senior biologist at the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India, Ajaj Spengku said the density of tiger population at the sanctuary was very healthy and every step should be taken to boost its resources and maintain it as an ideal habitat for tigers. — PTI