Jan. 19: A tiger was photographed at Neora Valley National Park in Kalimpong on Thursday morning in what is possibly the first time a human has caught a tiger on camera in north Bengal in at least five decades.
A man driving from Pedong to Lava spotted the tiger inside the national park around 7am on Thursday and photographed it.
The picture is significant because there has been no documented human sighting of a tiger in north Bengal in 50 years, said Pradeep Vyas, the principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife).
"The forest department doesn't know of anyone who clicked a photo of a tiger in north Bengal," he said.
In June 2012, the Buxa tiger reserve authorities claimed to have camera trappings of a tiger, spotted at least five times. The big cat, however, eluded humans.
Vyas said a 2014 census by the Wildlife Institute of India reported only three tigers in north Bengal. The figure was based on pugmarks and other indirect evidence.
The 2014 nationwide census of tigers, based on camera-captured images, pugmarks and other signs, had reported three tigers in north Bengal but no visual evidence.
Anmol Chhetri, who was driving down Pedong-Lava Road, photographed the tiger and alerted the forest department. Officers of the forest department, including range officer Sujata Gurung, reached the spot and found pugmarks, excreta as well as a half-eaten cow - all signs of a tiger's presence there.
Both Pedong and Lava are situated in Kalimpong subdivision of Darjeeling district. Pedong is located at an elevation of 4070ft while Lava's elevation is 7016ft. Neora Valley National Park, spread over 88sq km, can be entered from Lava and extends up to Sikkim and Bhutan.
In June 2007, a tiger was hit by a train in Cooch Behar, around 16km from the Jaldapara National Park.
A wildlife expert who has been involved in tiger census in the Sunderbans said the tiger may have come from Bhutan, since tigers are known to travel long distances.
A tiger census conducted in the Sunderbans last year reported 86 tigers in South 24-Parganas.
