Kaimur tipped as state's next tiger hub amid surging big cat numbers
2
Patna: As the world marks Tiger Conservation Day on Tuesday (July 29), Bihar has reason to celebrate as it has witnessed a remarkable surge in its tiger population in recent years, a clear sign of improving forest ecosystems and successful conservation efforts.
According to the All India Tiger Estimation Reports, published every four years, the Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) in West Champaran had just eight tigers in 2010. This number rose to 28 in 2014, 31 in 2018 and an impressive 54 in 2022. The current population now exceeds VTR's optimal capacity of 45 tigers.
Buoyed by this growth, the state govt has initiated steps to develop a second tiger reserve in the Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS).
Spread across 1,504 square kilometres, KWLS is set to be developed into another 'tiger-bearing landscape' in Bihar, said Gopal Sharma, former joint director of the Zoological Survey of India.
In fact, the move to establish the Kaimur Tiger Reserve began as early as 2018 when then Kaimur district forest officer Satyajeet Kumar reported tiger sightings, along with pugmarks and prey remains. Tigers had not been observed in the region since 1995.
Following these reports, a team of experts conducted a site visit and evaluated the sanctuary for designation as a tiger reserve, Sharma added.
Samir Kumar Sinha, chief ecologist at the Wildlife Trust of India, welcomed the growing tiger numbers in Bihar's forests and urged for focused efforts to improve the habitat and prevent tiger migration. "If VTR has surplus tigers, some can be relocated to the proposed Kaimur Tiger Reserve," he said.
Sinha also pointed out that the eastern fringes of the Kaimur forests, located in the Vindhyan hills, are well connected to Panna, Bandhavgarh and Sanjay-Dubri Tiger Reserves in Madhya Pradesh. "If the big cats find favourable habitats, they may move from one forest to another," he said.
Environmental activist Mehta Nagendra Singh attributed the increase in the tiger population at VTR to heightened public awareness and stricter monitoring of mining activities around the reserve. "Minimising human-wildlife conflict has played a crucial role in this growth," he said.
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