Theni :

The first wildlife census carried out in Megamalai wildlife sanctuary since its formation last year has revealed interesting aspects about the thriving wildlife in the 40,000 hectares of forest lands. The highlight of the findings is the spotting of a tigress with a cub. Signs spread across the sanctuary also point to the presence of leopards. The findings confirm that grizzled squirrels are no longer the monopoly of Srivilliputhur sanctuary, as they could be seen in good numbers in Megamalai.

Census volunteers found the tigress in Upper Manalaru region in Chinnamanaur range. The discovery cheered the wildlife lovers who were campaigning for the creation of the sanctuary. “The thriving wildlife and tigress with a cub is a sign of a healthy forest. It kindles hope for the revival of the River Vaigai since a healthy forest can ensure water supply to the river which is the lifeline of five districts down south,” said C P Rajkumar of Vaigai Association for Nature and Mountain  Ranges (VANAM), the partnering NGO for the census.

A large number of herbivores like sambar deer, spotted deer, mouse deer and barking deer were found across the entire sanctuary during the census. Elephants, including a single tusker, are also among the finds. Sloth bears and wild dogs were also spotted directly by the volunteers.

Altogether, 43 transects were created in the sanctuary which is divided into six ranges like Varusanadu, Chinnamanur, Kandamanur, Megamalai, Cumbum and Kudalur. As many as 56 volunteers, along with forest officials, had combed the sanctuary to enumerate the wildlife between March 23 and 24. R Venkatasamy, wildlife warden said that they had used range finder, compass and GPS to find out the angle and spot of the sightings and to record the findings. “The census was very satisfactory and the data classification is in process and after that the exact number of animals can be ascertained,” he said.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) assisted the wildlife officers and volunteers to make the census operations more scientific. WWF members were involved in studying the topography of the sanctuary and mapping the transects for the census. D Boominathan, landscape coordinator of Western Ghats – Nilgiris Programme said that they used various techniques as the census was being done for the first time. “To be on the safer side, we studied carnivores’ signs like pug marks, rake and scratch marks and carcasses for kill signs. Dung count was used to study elephant distribution and one day was dedicated for beat survey to study the distribution of species and abundance of them, especially with herbivores. The modern gadgets used in census were helpful to make accurate measurements of wildlife,” he said.

“Spotting a tiger with her cub is a very positive sign that the breeding is happening in the forest,” he added.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Madurai / TNN / by J. Arockiaraj / March 20th, 2013