Kalahandi: Good news for environmentalists and animal lovers, as Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF ) Sandeep Tripathy today informed that a tiger has been spotted in one more location in Odisha.
Some traces suggest the presence of a tiger in Karlapat forest range in Kalahandi district, though it is yet to be confirmed whether it is a leopard or Royal Bengal Tiger, Tripathy said.
The forest officials are keeping a close track to ascertain more details on the movement of the tiger, Tripathy further added.
The sighting of tiger in the area is certainly good news for environmentalists as concerns were being flagged after the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had estimated the number of Royal Bengal Tigers in Odisha at 28 in 2015.
Later, Odisha government had conducted a census in 2016 and claimed that there were 40 Royal Bengal Tigers in the State.
However, following some repeated sighting of tiger in new areas, forest officials were alerted and directed to intensify patrolling in these areas.
The Odisha government had recently informed that Royal Bengal Tigers have been sighted at three new forest divisions- Sundergarh, Debrigad in Hirakud and Muniguda in Rayagada of the State.
The PCCF further informed that the forest cover in the state has increased by 855 sq km as compared to last year.