In a rare incident, the Indian Army shared an alert with the Uttarakhand Forest Department about a tiger being spotted in the Dehradun cantonment.
“The latest spotting was on Sept 22 at Tigris Line in Birpur… you are requested to initiate necessary steps to capture the tiger,” read the army communication, signed by a Lieutenant Colonel.
The Army also shared a photograph showing a young adult tiger roaming in the residential area of Birpur lines. The Forest Department has set up cages and camera traps and is verifying the authenticity of the photo. “We haven't sighted a tiger so far in that area. Photographic evidence shared is being vetted,” said Dehradun DFO Neeraj Sharma.
Former senior scientist and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) expert Qamar Qureshi said, “Tigers disperse from their natal territories when they reach adulthood. While females settle closeby, males tend to move further to find territory. Doon Valley historically has had tigers, and this looks like a dispersing tiger which has come either from the Chilla part of Rajaji Tiger Reserve or forest divisions outside Corbett Tiger Reserve where the tiger population is dense."
As per the latest estimates by WII and the National Tiger Conservation Authority, Uttarakhand is home to as many as 560 tigers and serves as a key source population for the Terai landscape of the country.
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