Tiger corridor of Kawal notified as Kumram Bheem Conservation Reserve

Tiger corridor of Kawal notified as Kumram Bheem Conservation Reserve

The Telangana State government on Friday issued orders declaring the tiger corridor area connecting the Kawal Tiger Reserve in the State with the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra as ‘Kumram Bheem Conservation Reserve’, as per the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Covering the total area of 1492.88 square kilometres or 149288.48 hectares of area, the proposed conservation reserve spans across Asifabad and Kagaznagar divisions, encompassing parts of Kerameri, Wankidi, Asifabad, Sirpur, Koutala, Bejjur, Kagaznagar, Rebbana, Dahegaon and Tiryani mandals of the Kumram Bheem Asifabad district, and 78 reserve forest blocks, including Garlapet, Ada, Manikgarh East, Manikgarh West, Danora, Gudem, Bejjur, Kadamba and Girali.

The area is a critical part of the wildlife corridor connecting Kawal with not only Tadoba, but Kanhargaon, Tipeshwar, and Chaprala wildlife sanctuaries in Maharashtra and Indravati Tiger Reserve in Chhattisgarh.

The presence of resident, breeding tigers in the area and several inter-State tiger dispersal events over the past decade indicate that it is a crucial link for maintaining tiger connectivity in this part of the central India landscape, said the notification.

Apart from tigers, the proposed area is home to a variety of other carnivores such as leopard, wild dog, sloth bear, wolf, hyena, honey badger and jungle cat, and supports diverse prey such as gaur, sambar, nilgai, chital, four-horned antelope, muntjac, and Indian gazelle, the introductory note said, also adding the elephants which had made an appearance here some time back.

More than 240 bird species have made it home - including the Malabar Pied Hornbills, and Long Billed Vulture - for which it is the only nesting site.

While the Tiger Census, 2022 reported the presence of at least four adult tigers and three cubs, strategic camera trapping, year round monitoring, and other surveys by the Forest department revealed the use of the area by more than 45 unique tigers over the last decade, most of which are transient. Since 2015, there have been five instances where three tigers have collectively given birth to a total 17 cubs. About eight leopards too were recorded in the proposed area during the All India Leopard Estimation, 2022.