Big cats roared their way in the state with Valmiki Tiger Reserve recording more than three-fold increase in the feline count.
The Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR), the lone tiger reserve in the state, about 290km northwest of Patna, was home to eight tigers in 2010. The latest report, released by Union minister of environment and forests Prakash Javadekar in Delhi on Tuesday, states the number has increased to 28.
This is for the first time that the tiger reserve, which was notified in 1989, has reversed the trend of dwindling number of felines in its greens (see chart).
The report on Management Effectiveness Evaluation of Tiger Reserves-2014, conducted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, has upgraded the rating of VTR from satisfactory in 2010 to very good in 2014. The assessment is based on various factors, including tiger conservation plan, habitat management, enforcement of acts and resolution of human-animal conflicts.
The credit goes to the reserve management, which deals with the steps taken to keep the area in good shape.
Vivek Kumar Singh, the environment and forests principal secretary, said: 'It is a proud moment for us and also an encouraging factor to take the tiger reserve management to higher levels. We would take extensive measure to improve habitat management, including grassland development. More funds would be given to VTR for its all-round development for better tiger conservation and breeding activities.'
B.A. Khan, the principal chief conservator of forest-cum-chief wildlife warden of Bihar, shared similar views. 'It is a success for VTR and officials who have worked here over the past four years deserve credit for this,' Khan said.
While state authorities attributed the surge in the number of big cats to improved administration and development of favourable habitat, experts do not agree with the report.
K. Ullas Karanth, the founder trustee and director at Centre for Wildlife Studies and a tiger expert, said: 'Though states like Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh in the upper Terai in northern India have done well in terms of tiger conservation, places like Bihar and Jharkhand are lagging far behind. I think the methodologies adopted in such reports are not strong enough to accept whether there was a sudden rise or fall in the number of tigers.'
