Barely 3 years old, the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) is facing major conservation challenges. A part of the Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu bordering Karnataka, it was declared a protected tiger reserve in 2013. The sanctuary is located at the confluence of the Eastern and Western Ghats and stretches across 1,408.04 sq km, of which 793.4 sq km is core zone and 614.9 sq km is buffer zone, according to the information obtained from the Tamil Nadu Forest Department (TNFD).
The Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary serves as a catchment area for numerous streams that sprout from rivers in the Western Ghats such as the Bhavani and Moyar. It is surrounded by Mudumalai, Bandipur and BRT Tiger Reserves and serves as a link between them for tiger movement. Sathyamangalam is also part of an elephant corridor across both the Eastern and Western Ghats.
The Forest Department and independent estimates put the number of tigers in Sathyamangalam at 55 and elephants at 600, besides a good sprinkling of bears, wild boars and leopards. Actual carnivore numbers could be much higher, given the frequency with which they show up in the camera traps put up by the Forest Department and recurring incidents of cattle kills by big cats.
The boundaries of STR criss-cross that of surrounding villages, some of which have found themselves within the core area after the reserve was divided into core and buffer zones. What was once their traditional grazing land is now off limits with forest officials shooing away villagers from grazing cattle. However, that does not prevent some cattle from straying into the forest or tigers and leopards from scouring the villages in search of an easy meal. Reports of cattle being killed by carnivores are more than two a day, according to Vijay Kumar, a local estate owner and conservationist.
He says that some villagers spray deadly chemicals on the carcasses of cattle to kill the carnivore as revenge and to prevent it from repeat kills. So, Vijay and fellow conservationists, mainly estate owners in the vicinity, pay compensation to farmers from their own voluntary contribution. Once a cattle kill is identified, Vijay deputes a team of volunteers accompanied by forest guards to the spot to confirm the kill and pay compensation amounting to 50% of the price of the cattle head.
The forest department too has a big-cat-kill compensation scheme but few villagers ever apply for it owing to a long bureaucratic process, says Vijay. "Every time we pay compensation, we not only save a tiger or a leopard, but we also save hyenas and vultures." Sure enough, an increasing number of vultures are being sighted in the Sathyamangalam jungles including the critically endangered red-necked vulture, of which an estimated 10,000 are surviving worldwide according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Roadkills of wild animals
Roadkills of wild animals on National Highway (NH) 209,which passes through the sanctuary for about 28 km, also pose threat to the Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary. The road connects Mysuru to Dindigul and experiences heavy traffic throughout the day. Cases of tigers, leopards and bears knocked down by speeding vehicles are reported ever so frequently.
The stretch of the road from the outskirts of Hasanur village in Tamil Nadu to the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border in Pununjuru is where most of the roadkills of wildlife occur as it is mostly straight, well-asphalted and therefore prone to over-speeding by vehicles, particularly trucks and buses at night. This stretch cuts across the Arakadavu stream, a major water source that draws wildlife from the mostly dry interiors of the forest. Temporary road barriers put up by the forest department has done little to reduce roadkills.
Following the declaration of STR as a protected tiger reserve, mining activity in the many
laterite mines dotting the forest has come to a stop. Forest officials maintain that a halt to mining has become a major contributory factor to conservation. On a visit to the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, I saw roads being built inside the sanctuary to prepare the area for visitors. Several privately-owned resorts have come up near the sanctuary which take visitors up and down NH-209 and several interior roads nearby in the hope of spotting wildlife.
Extended dry spells over the last couple years has led to a fall in the sightings of herbivores such as deer, bison and wild boar which form the prey base for big cats. While forest officials opine that they may have gone deep into the jungle in search of water and that reduced sightings cannot be equated with a fall in numbers, conservationists have a different take on this. "This forest does not have a perennial source of water for wildlife to converge on during the hot months. The fact that big cats are picking up easy prey such as domestic cattle means their traditional prey base could be dwindling," says Vijay.
The Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary serves as a catchment area for numerous streams that sprout from rivers in the Western Ghats such as the Bhavani and Moyar. It is surrounded by Mudumalai, Bandipur and BRT Tiger Reserves and serves as a link between them for tiger movement. Sathyamangalam is also part of an elephant corridor across both the Eastern and Western Ghats.
The Forest Department and independent estimates put the number of tigers in Sathyamangalam at 55 and elephants at 600, besides a good sprinkling of bears, wild boars and leopards. Actual carnivore numbers could be much higher, given the frequency with which they show up in the camera traps put up by the Forest Department and recurring incidents of cattle kills by big cats.
The boundaries of STR criss-cross that of surrounding villages, some of which have found themselves within the core area after the reserve was divided into core and buffer zones. What was once their traditional grazing land is now off limits with forest officials shooing away villagers from grazing cattle. However, that does not prevent some cattle from straying into the forest or tigers and leopards from scouring the villages in search of an easy meal. Reports of cattle being killed by carnivores are more than two a day, according to Vijay Kumar, a local estate owner and conservationist.
He says that some villagers spray deadly chemicals on the carcasses of cattle to kill the carnivore as revenge and to prevent it from repeat kills. So, Vijay and fellow conservationists, mainly estate owners in the vicinity, pay compensation to farmers from their own voluntary contribution. Once a cattle kill is identified, Vijay deputes a team of volunteers accompanied by forest guards to the spot to confirm the kill and pay compensation amounting to 50% of the price of the cattle head.
The forest department too has a big-cat-kill compensation scheme but few villagers ever apply for it owing to a long bureaucratic process, says Vijay. "Every time we pay compensation, we not only save a tiger or a leopard, but we also save hyenas and vultures." Sure enough, an increasing number of vultures are being sighted in the Sathyamangalam jungles including the critically endangered red-necked vulture, of which an estimated 10,000 are surviving worldwide according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Roadkills of wild animals
Roadkills of wild animals on National Highway (NH) 209,which passes through the sanctuary for about 28 km, also pose threat to the Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary. The road connects Mysuru to Dindigul and experiences heavy traffic throughout the day. Cases of tigers, leopards and bears knocked down by speeding vehicles are reported ever so frequently.
The stretch of the road from the outskirts of Hasanur village in Tamil Nadu to the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border in Pununjuru is where most of the roadkills of wildlife occur as it is mostly straight, well-asphalted and therefore prone to over-speeding by vehicles, particularly trucks and buses at night. This stretch cuts across the Arakadavu stream, a major water source that draws wildlife from the mostly dry interiors of the forest. Temporary road barriers put up by the forest department has done little to reduce roadkills.
Following the declaration of STR as a protected tiger reserve, mining activity in the many
laterite mines dotting the forest has come to a stop. Forest officials maintain that a halt to mining has become a major contributory factor to conservation. On a visit to the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, I saw roads being built inside the sanctuary to prepare the area for visitors. Several privately-owned resorts have come up near the sanctuary which take visitors up and down NH-209 and several interior roads nearby in the hope of spotting wildlife.
Extended dry spells over the last couple years has led to a fall in the sightings of herbivores such as deer, bison and wild boar which form the prey base for big cats. While forest officials opine that they may have gone deep into the jungle in search of water and that reduced sightings cannot be equated with a fall in numbers, conservationists have a different take on this. "This forest does not have a perennial source of water for wildlife to converge on during the hot months. The fact that big cats are picking up easy prey such as domestic cattle means their traditional prey base could be dwindling," says Vijay.
Barely 3 years old, the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) is facing major conservation challenges. A part of the Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu bordering Karnataka, it was declared a protected tiger reserve in 2013. The sanctuary is located at the confluence of the Eastern and Western Ghats and stretches across 1,408.04 sq km, of which 793.4 sq km is core zone and 614.9 sq km is buffer zone, according to the information obtained from the Tamil Nadu Forest Department (TNFD).
The Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary serves as a catchment area for numerous streams that sprout from rivers in the Western Ghats such as the Bhavani and Moyar. It is surrounded by Mudumalai, Bandipur and BRT Tiger Reserves and serves as a link between them for tiger movement. Sathyamangalam is also part of an elephant corridor across both the Eastern and Western Ghats.
The Forest Department and independent estimates put the number of tigers in Sathyamangalam at 55 and elephants at 600, besides a good sprinkling of bears, wild boars and leopards. Actual carnivore numbers could be much higher, given the frequency with which they show up in the camera traps put up by the Forest Department and recurring incidents of cattle kills by big cats.
The boundaries of STR criss-cross that of surrounding villages, some of which have found themselves within the core area after the reserve was divided into core and buffer zones. What was once their traditional grazing land is now off limits with forest officials shooing away villagers from grazing cattle. However, that does not prevent some cattle from straying into the forest or tigers and leopards from scouring the villages in search of an easy meal. Reports of cattle being killed by carnivores are more than two a day, according to Vijay Kumar, a local estate owner and conservationist.
He says that some villagers spray deadly chemicals on the carcasses of cattle to kill the carnivore as revenge and to prevent it from repeat kills. So, Vijay and fellow conservationists, mainly estate owners in the vicinity, pay compensation to farmers from their own voluntary contribution. Once a cattle kill is identified, Vijay deputes a team of volunteers accompanied by forest guards to the spot to confirm the kill and pay compensation amounting to 50% of the price of the cattle head.
The forest department too has a big-cat-kill compensation scheme but few villagers ever apply for it owing to a long bureaucratic process, says Vijay. "Every time we pay compensation, we not only save a tiger or a leopard, but we also save hyenas and vultures.” Sure enough, an increasing number of vultures are being sighted in the Sathyamangalam jungles including the critically endangered red-necked vulture, of which an estimated 10,000 are surviving worldwide according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Roadkills of wild animals
Roadkills of wild animals on National Highway (NH) 209,which passes through the sanctuary for about 28 km, also pose threat to the Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary. The road connects Mysuru to Dindigul and experiences heavy traffic throughout the day. Cases of tigers, leopards and bears knocked down by speeding vehicles are reported ever so frequently.
The stretch of the road from the outskirts of Hasanur village in Tamil Nadu to the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border in Pununjuru is where most of the roadkills of wildlife occur as it is mostly straight, well-asphalted and therefore prone to over-speeding by vehicles, particularly trucks and buses at night. This stretch cuts across the Arakadavu stream, a major water source that draws wildlife from the mostly dry interiors of the forest. Temporary road barriers put up by the forest department has done little to reduce roadkills.
Following the declaration of STR as a protected tiger reserve, mining activity in the many
laterite mines dotting the forest has come to a stop. Forest officials maintain that a halt to mining has become a major contributory factor to conservation. On a visit to the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, I saw roads being built inside the sanctuary to prepare the area for visitors. Several privately-owned resorts have come up near the sanctuary which take visitors up and down NH-209 and several interior roads nearby in the hope of spotting wildlife.
Extended dry spells over the last couple years has led to a fall in the sightings of herbivores such as deer, bison and wild boar which form the prey base for big cats. While forest officials opine that they may have gone deep into the jungle in search of water and that reduced sightings cannot be equated with a fall in numbers, conservationists have a different take on this. "This forest does not have a perennial source of water for wildlife to converge on during the hot months. The fact that big cats are picking up easy prey such as domestic cattle means their traditional prey base could be dwindling,” says Vijay.
The Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary serves as a catchment area for numerous streams that sprout from rivers in the Western Ghats such as the Bhavani and Moyar. It is surrounded by Mudumalai, Bandipur and BRT Tiger Reserves and serves as a link between them for tiger movement. Sathyamangalam is also part of an elephant corridor across both the Eastern and Western Ghats.
The Forest Department and independent estimates put the number of tigers in Sathyamangalam at 55 and elephants at 600, besides a good sprinkling of bears, wild boars and leopards. Actual carnivore numbers could be much higher, given the frequency with which they show up in the camera traps put up by the Forest Department and recurring incidents of cattle kills by big cats.
The boundaries of STR criss-cross that of surrounding villages, some of which have found themselves within the core area after the reserve was divided into core and buffer zones. What was once their traditional grazing land is now off limits with forest officials shooing away villagers from grazing cattle. However, that does not prevent some cattle from straying into the forest or tigers and leopards from scouring the villages in search of an easy meal. Reports of cattle being killed by carnivores are more than two a day, according to Vijay Kumar, a local estate owner and conservationist.
He says that some villagers spray deadly chemicals on the carcasses of cattle to kill the carnivore as revenge and to prevent it from repeat kills. So, Vijay and fellow conservationists, mainly estate owners in the vicinity, pay compensation to farmers from their own voluntary contribution. Once a cattle kill is identified, Vijay deputes a team of volunteers accompanied by forest guards to the spot to confirm the kill and pay compensation amounting to 50% of the price of the cattle head.
The forest department too has a big-cat-kill compensation scheme but few villagers ever apply for it owing to a long bureaucratic process, says Vijay. "Every time we pay compensation, we not only save a tiger or a leopard, but we also save hyenas and vultures.” Sure enough, an increasing number of vultures are being sighted in the Sathyamangalam jungles including the critically endangered red-necked vulture, of which an estimated 10,000 are surviving worldwide according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Roadkills of wild animals
Roadkills of wild animals on National Highway (NH) 209,which passes through the sanctuary for about 28 km, also pose threat to the Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary. The road connects Mysuru to Dindigul and experiences heavy traffic throughout the day. Cases of tigers, leopards and bears knocked down by speeding vehicles are reported ever so frequently.
The stretch of the road from the outskirts of Hasanur village in Tamil Nadu to the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border in Pununjuru is where most of the roadkills of wildlife occur as it is mostly straight, well-asphalted and therefore prone to over-speeding by vehicles, particularly trucks and buses at night. This stretch cuts across the Arakadavu stream, a major water source that draws wildlife from the mostly dry interiors of the forest. Temporary road barriers put up by the forest department has done little to reduce roadkills.
Following the declaration of STR as a protected tiger reserve, mining activity in the many
laterite mines dotting the forest has come to a stop. Forest officials maintain that a halt to mining has become a major contributory factor to conservation. On a visit to the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, I saw roads being built inside the sanctuary to prepare the area for visitors. Several privately-owned resorts have come up near the sanctuary which take visitors up and down NH-209 and several interior roads nearby in the hope of spotting wildlife.
Extended dry spells over the last couple years has led to a fall in the sightings of herbivores such as deer, bison and wild boar which form the prey base for big cats. While forest officials opine that they may have gone deep into the jungle in search of water and that reduced sightings cannot be equated with a fall in numbers, conservationists have a different take on this. "This forest does not have a perennial source of water for wildlife to converge on during the hot months. The fact that big cats are picking up easy prey such as domestic cattle means their traditional prey base could be dwindling,” says Vijay.