NSTR Core Area Closed for Jungle Safari Till Sept 30 for Breeding of Wild Animals
Accordingly, they suspended the safari on vehicles in the core area.
Vijayawada:The forest department has suspended the jungle safari in the core area of Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve for three months from Wednesday to September 30 to facilitate breeding of wild animals including tigers.
Following the rainfall, wild animals find plenty of food and water which, in turn, helps them to breed, generate litter and raise the young ones. Among the wild animals, tiger, leopard, slothbear, spotted deer, sambar, blackbuck etc tend to breed during the monsoon.
As part of the guidelines issued by the national tiger conservation authority, the forest authorities have suspended jungle safari in the core area to avoid any disturbance and trouble to the wild animals during the breeding season.
Accordingly, they suspended the safari on vehicles in the core area.
However, in the Nallamala jungle camps at Bairluty, the cottages will remain open for the public. Ecotourism activities are allowed in the buffer zone in the NSTR.
However, to compensate for the curbs imposed on jungle safari in the core area, the foresters promised to provide such a facility in the buffer zone.
Meanwhile, as the Central government has notified the core area of the NSTR, the authorities would ensure that the wild animals do not get disturbed during their breeding.
Project Tiger Atmakur’s deputy director Vignesh Appavu said, “We have suspended jungle safari on vehicles in the core area of NSTR for three months for breeding of wild animals and we are planning to arrange it in the buffer area while ecotourism activities continue with no curbs in buffer area.”
On the other hand, the foresters hope to witness a substantial raise in the number of tigers in the NSTR as the all India tiger estimate has been carried out and they are analysing the data. Some 45 lakh photos of wild animals have been captured through trap cameras and other means.
As per the all India tiger estimate of 2022, the NSTR has 87 tigers including cubs. This means the adult tigers number 63.
