In Goa's Western Ghats, tigers roam in no man's land

HOMELESS IN GOA

Emblazoned with black stripes, tigers roam Goa’s 600 sq km of the Western Ghats area, and beyond, but they cannot call it their home. Calls for notifying it as tiger reserve have long been ignored.

NON-RESIDENT TIGERS

There is enough evidence of tiger presence in the 1,600-km long continuous range of hills spread over six states. Goa, which is one of them, refuses to admit there are "resident tigers" in its jurisdiction.

TIGERS IN THE WILD

Since 1999, when Goa declared the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and Netravalli Wildlife Sanctuary, there have been calls for designating the Western Ghats on Goa’s side as tiger reserve.

KINGDOM OF TIGERS

A tiger reserve is a demarcated habitat for the conservation of tigers and their prey base. It is encircled by a buffer zone that permits only those human activities that prioritise tiger conservation.

CLAWS OF RESISTANCE

The efforts to notify a tiger reserve in Mhadei region began in real earnest only in 2011 by the Centre but State institutions and authorities have pushed back any overtures in that direction.

DEMAND ZINDA HAI

In 2020, after the death of a tigress and three tigers in the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary, demands for a tiger reserve resurged with renewed vigour from Goa’s wildlife enthusiasts.

ON EDGE OF PRECIPICE

A National Tiger Conservation Authority report in 2022 reveals tiger population in the Western Ghats shrunk to 824 in 2022 from 981 in 2018. However, countrywide, it rose to 3080 from 2461 during the same period.

THE LEGAL ROAR

Last July, Goa's High Court ordered the state to notify the tiger reserve within three months, but this has been challenged in the Supreme Court. The current push is to bypass the legal battle and officially recognise the tigers' abode in the State.

NEXT: This monsoon, travel to Goa's past at this fort near Panjim