roaring again?

Chennai, May 24: Tamil Nadu has reported a rise in the tiger count at a time when the big cat population is dwindling in other parts of the country.

The latest survey shows that the southern state has bucked the trend and its tiger population has jumped from 62, according to the last census three years ago, to 76 in the latest count, S. Balaji, the chief conservator of forests, Tamil Nadu, said.

The tiger population has shown an impressive growth in the Kalakkadu-Mundanthurai tiger reserve in Tirunelveli district, close to Kerala.

The government has now sanctioned Project Tiger schemes in two more forest areas — Mudumalai and Anamalai — Balaji said here.

Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India has come up with the figures.

The pug mark method as well as the photo trap method were used for double verification, Balaji said.

Stating that 17.59 per cent of the land was currently under forest cover in Tamil Nadu, Balaji said the rise in the tiger population was a solid indication that the “extent to which the eco-system and bio-diversity were being conserved in the state”.

However, Balaji said there was little scope for increasing the forest cover, though there are opportunities for increasing the tree cover in all types of land.