Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): To ease the tiger pressure on the main land of Kanha Tiger Reserve, its officials have developed a new prey base by shifting cheetals from high to low density areas. This has started to bear fruits as one dozen tigers have made new grasslands their prey base and more are expected to join them in future.
The new prey base area is close to the tiger corridor connecting Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Kanha Tiger Reserve has 46,000 cheetals. In last six years, half a dozen villages including Azanpur, Advar, Jholar situated within reserve were relocated.
The areas of where the villages once existed are grasslands now. So far, 1,600 cheetals have been shifted to the new grassland areas. The tigers living in Kanha, Kesli, Mukki village have begun moving to new grassland areas. As tigers have spread, the territorial fights are likely to come down.
Its other benefit is that tigers moving to new grasslands can spread to other regions through Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra corridor. The tigers of other places may visit the reserve, which will help in better flow of genes.
When contacted, SK Singh, Director of Kanha Tiger Reserve, said shifting of cheetals from high density to low density areas began few years back. Kanha Tiger Reserve has 111 adult tigers and 37 cubs.
