Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is tiger kingdom of the State

E M Manoj, Kalpetta
The Hindu, May 15, 2019

Here tigers roam without fear, and it shows in their numbers.
A monitoring programme of the Forest Department for 2017-18 has found that the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) , a biodiversity hotspot in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, holds the largest tiger population in the State.
The study was organised in association with the Parambikulam and Periyar Tiger Conservation Foundations.

75 in sanctuary

“Of the total 176 tigers in the State, 75 were identified from the WWS, which is part of a large forest complex holding the single largest population of tigers in India,” B.N. Anjan Kumar, Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), said of the study.
Nine tigers had also been captured by camera stations set up at the North and South Wayanad forest divisions.

Periyar, Parambikulam

The Periyar and Parambikulam tiger reserves followed suit, where 25 tigers each were captured in camera traps, Mr. Kumar said.
“There are no tigers in the Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary and the adjoining Kottayam and Kothamangalam forest divisions as the landscape is cut off from the adjacent mainland (Munnar and Malayattoor forest divisions). The Kasaragod forest division is highly fragmented and degraded and does not show tiger evidence,” he said. Camera traps, where tigers are identified from photographs based on unique stripe patterns, were used to count the tiger population, Mr. Kumar, who supervised the project, said.
The forest area in the State was divided into 10 landscapes and 1,640 camera traps were set up.
It took nearly a year-and-a-half to complete the project. Close to 500 trained front line forest staff participated in the endeavour.
The Nilambur North and South forest divisions were excluded from the study as camera traps could not be set up in the forests due to Maoist issues. These areas are expected to support a good tiger population.
“Demographic simulation suggests that cubs (below one year) may comprise roughly 25% of a healthy tiger population. However, cubs are not included in the data as they have to reach three years of age (mortality rate of cubs is high). Thus, the forests are home to about 250 individuals that may or may not be part of home ranges within the Kerala forests,” he said.

Potential for reserve

“As the WWS and the adjoining tiger reserves in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu constitute a major tiger habitat in the country, the sanctuary has the potential to get the status of a tiger reserve. Such an initiative needs the support of the public,” says Chief Wildlife Warden Surendra Kumar.
Such a move would help get more funds to effectively implement projects to mitigate man-animal conflict in the area, he said.

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Invasive plants a threat to wildlife

E. M. Manoj
KALPETTA,  
The Hindu, September 22, 2014 

The wild growth of invasive alien plants such as Senna spectabilis (calceolaria shower), Lantana, Eupatorium and Parthenium is posing a threat to wildlife and indigenous plants in the forest areas of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, including the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS), a major habitat of Asiatic elephants in the country.

“The spread of Senna spectablis is more dangerous than other exotic species owing to its quick growth,” Narendranath Veluri, North Wayanad Forest Divisional officer told The Hindu.

“Nearly 3,000 sq km-stretch of the region, including the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, North and South Wayanad forest divisions and the adjacent Muthumalai, Bandipur and Nagarhole tiger reserves, have wild growth of the invasive plant,” he said.

Survey

An ongoing survey being conducted by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), in association with the Forest Department, shows that the plant is widely distributed in the Muthanga and Tholpetty range of forests under the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.

“An adult tree would grow up to 15 to 20 metres in a short period of time and its quick spread causes dearth of food for the wildlife population, especially herbivores, This would worsen the man-animal conflict in the district,” said N. Badusha, president, Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samiti.

C.K. Vishnudas, a wildlife researcher, said no part of the tree had proved to be edible to wildlife.

It would not allow the growth of other indigenous species of trees or even grass under its thick canopy.

“It is suspected that the spread of the exotic species in the region began with a social forestry programme of the department in the Nineties. Eradication of the plant would not be easy, but it can be done with the active participation of environmental organisations, National Service Scheme volunteers and the public,” Mr. Badusha said.

Roy P Thomas, Wildlife Warden, WWS, said the Forest Department was preparing to execute a project with the technical support of the Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi , and the WTI to eradicate the plant from the sanctuary.

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