Ooty: Segur jungles in MTR buffer, healthy habitat for reproductive tigers

Ooty: The Segur plateau in the MTR buffer zone bordering the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (Erode) is proving to be a healthy hub of good reproductive population of tigers.

Forest department official sources said that the landscape of the Segur plateau in the foothills of the Nilgiris bordering the Thengumarahada jungles, which is again a part of the buffer zone of the MTR, and the Sathayamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) in Erode district, is such that it has vast undisturbed space for a good prey base for tigers such as sambar deer and spotted deer.

The vast grasslands in the Segur limits and good water sources there aid in tiger conservation efforts, sources maintained.

“A good number of reproductive tigers are seen in the transition zone along the Segur jungles in the Nilgiris and STR (Erode). Protective measures such as anti-poaching camps and jungle patrolling has borne fruit now. Tribals residing in the jungle tribal hamlets in the upper reaches of the Segur jungles are also giving a helping hand in tiger conservation,” sources added.