Hubbali-Ankola rail line poses threat to tiger migration: Greens

Mangaluru: For the government, the Hubbali-Ankola railway line is considered a boon for the development of North Karnataka, as it connects coastal Karnataka to the hinterland. Conservationists opposing this project have raised concerns about the threat it poses to the migration of tigers.
Wildlife activist Guruprasad said that the Western Ghats are home to tiger reserves, and that there are several protected areas around the proposed Hubballi-Ankola railway project. “Tigers migrate over long distances when they want to move to a new territory. Tigers from Bhadra migrate to Kali tiger reserve and tigers from Sahyadri in Maharashtra migrate to the Kali tiger reserve. The project passes through all such migration routes, and there is no doubt that a railway line going through such areas will affect the movement of tigers. Such linear intrusion projects are detrimental to tigers, elephants, and other big mammals,” he said.
The over 600-page report on ‘Status of tigers, copredators and prey in India’ of the fourth All India Tiger Estimation, 2018, released by the Union government states that a total 461 camera traps were deployed in Kali tiger reserve yielding 43 tiger images from which 4 individual tigers were identified. The report states that a total 28 species of ungulates, carnivores, domestic animals, omnivores, and galliformes were photographed using camera traps in the tiger reserve. Wild pig, leopard, and porcupine were the most common animals to be photographed. Bonnet macaque was the rarest species to be photographed, followed by pangolin.
Appreciating the efforts of the State government MoEF&CC towards tiger conservation, wildlife activist, Giridhar Kulkarni pointed out that, “It is evident that the tiger numbers are increasing outside the tiger reserves as well, which is a very good indication. However, at the same time, such habitats and corridors are under serious threat, especially due to linear infrastructure projects like railways, highways and transmission lines. Hence, the government needs to plan such projects outside such areas. The government must make sincere efforts to notify the potential wildlife habitats as either sanctuaries or national parks, especially in districts like Shivamogga, Uttara Kannada, and Belagavi,” he added.