The Kawal Tiger Reserve in erstwhile combined Adilabad district no longer seems to be the “promised land” for tigers. The recent wild animal survey has revealed that it is a tiger-less park and the kind of disturbance to environment being noticed there will only ensure the big cats stay away or quickly return to where they came from at best, according to wildlife experts.
A comparison of the situation at KTR with the tiny Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary located about 30 km away from Adilabad town on the NH 44 in Yavatmal district of neighbouring Maharashtra makes it look much worse than it perhaps actually is.
The latter boasts of excellent management practices and prey base which facilitates between 12 and 14 tigers including 10 cubs within its 143 sq km expanse while the former has no claim to fame on these counts.
Tipeshwar is fast emerging as a prime tiger conservation and tiger tourism haven despite the disadvantage of being much smaller in area. The comparatively higher incidence of tiger sightings in the sanctuary has made the place popular among wildlife enthusiasts from Hyderabad and other places in Telangana.
Well known columnist and wildlife enthusiast from Hyderabad, Mohan Guruswamy, who is a former Adviser in the Union Finance Ministry, rates Tipeshwar much better than KTR.
“The area needs to be expanded to hold the increasing number of tigers and of course the spillover of visitors from Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur district of the same State," he suggested after visiting the park.
Sanjeev Siva, a well- known wildlife enthusiast and photographer from Hyderabad, who is associated with CLAW, a conservation group which was instrumental in bringing to light and improving some aspects associated with conservation at Tipeshwar Sanctuary about two years back, visits it once every month. “The sightings will increase with the onset of summer and so will the turnout of visitors,” he observed as he talked of the prospect of the sanctuary emerging as a popular destination for wildlife enthusiasts.
The beleaguered looking Kawal has even failed to infuse enthusiasm and concern among the locals about the wildlife. Tipeshwar on the other hand has attracted lots of local youth who have transformed their status from the uninitiated to noteworthy wildlife photographers thanks to the tiger sightings.
“The Tipeshwar forest offers an excellent chance to learn the nuances of the wild. Unlike other parks, tigers here are sighted by following calls of other animals in the wild,” opined Saurabh Agarwal, a computer hardware professional from Adilabad town who along with two of his friend visits the sanctuary at least thrice every week and shot the pictures of tiger cubs in playful mood.
