M F AHMED
Daltonganj, Nov. 11: The big cat sighted by forest ranger Tarun Kumar Singh and his team of half a dozen trackers at the Bareysanr range of the Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) on Monday evening has been confirmed to be a tiger and not a tigress.
Field director and chief conservator of forest Kumar Ashutosh said, “Our team had so far collected the pug mark and the scat. The pug marks indicated it to be of a tiger.”
“First, the pugmark is square. It is 13.5 centimetres in length and 13.5 centimetres in breadth. A pug mark that fits into a square belongs to the male big cat,” he added.
He said there are other distinctive features that make this pug mark to be qualified as that of the male tiger.
Deputy Director (North division) of the PTR, Kumar Ashish making a distinction between the pugmark of a male and female tiger said a female pug mark fits into a rectangular. Further, the shape of the toes of the female tiger is elongated and there is less space between the toes in the pugmark of the tigress.
Kumar Ashutosh went on to say, “The pugmark that we have discovered has the shape of the toes that is rounded and there is more space between the toes. These are the distinguishing features. I can tell that it is a tiger.”
About two dozen ground staff led by the ranger Tarun Kumar Singh are on the trail of this tiger silently but vigorously.
The scat that was found is said to be old.
“Our men can tell the scat is of the tiger but it has to be scientifically proven and for this sample of the scat is invariably sent to the Wildlife Institute of India Dehradun,” added the field director.
“We will soon send the sample of the scat that we have collected to Dehradun but we know we are not going to have its analysis report any sooner,” he added.
Sources said the other most important clue about the existence of a tiger goes with its kill.
Farmers living in the range of the Bareysanr having cattle would be approached to find out if they have lost any of the cattle to the wild in the recent past.
Deputy Director (South division) PTR, Mukesh Kumar said, “We believe we will be able to track down the kill or its residue. Grazing of cattle is prohibited in the core area and where this male tiger was sighted, it comes under the core area.”
Sources said the cattle owners who lose their cattle head to wildlife in the core area just try to be cool and calm making no clamour for the compensation simply because they know their cattle were in the prohibited territory and hence no compensation would be coming for it rather, they may face a lot of questions in this regard from the PTR officials.
The best course that the farmers adopt in the core area is to be tight-lipped about cattle casualty by elephants, leopards or by the big cat, said sources.
Mukesh Kumar said there are feral cattle too and there is a possibility of their becoming prey of the big cat.
Kumar Ashutosh, on the other hand, said, “we have asked our Bareysanr range officials to seek the names and if available, phone numbers of the farmers of the adjoining villages of the site where this tiger was directly sighted, from the Pragya Kendra and phone the farmers to know the status of the cattle that they had with them.”
“Our men would be reaching them too in case we get some clinching evidence,” he added.
Sources said claim of sighting a tiger by a government functionary always precedes a high level of inquisitiveness more often bordering on the suspicions and doubts and this is the reason that many who sight the tiger just become wiser not to make a mention of it all for the sake of not becoming the cynosure of more and more queries and less of the patting.
| ReplyForward |
