Rescued 6 years ago, Katlabodi tigress delivered three litters

NAGPUR: A tigress that had fallen into a well and dramatically rescued four years ago, has helped in populating an entire forest with tigers. The female, known as Katlabodi tigress, is resident in Kalmeshwar-Kondhali forest, some 40km from Nagpur, has given birth to nine cubs since her rescue.

According to a latest camera trap pictures and ground survey conducted between May-September 2016 by Dhanusha Kawalkar, a MSc (Wildlife, Conservation Action) student of Bharatiya Vidyapeeth Institute of Environment Education & Research, there are 11-12 tigers living in Kalmeshwar-Kondhali ranges. A couple of these tigers like Bajirao (BTR-T1) and BTR (T2) have also been recorded at Bor Tiger Reserve. The survey was done between May and July and further continued till recently.

Katlabodi tigress was rescued on February 7, 2011, after she fell into a 35-feet-deep well and released in the wild seven days later in the same area after being treated. Even then she was pregnant but had aborted as result of the fall. “Since then the tigress has delivered nine cubs. All three litters had a male and two females. Her litters of 2013 and 2015, have settled down in the same area and a male (BTR-T2) has moved to Bor. The most recent cubs are four months old,” says the report by Kawalkar. Had the first litter survived, this would have been her fourth litter.

BTR-T2 is from Katlabodi’s first litter and is today pride of Bor. The male also visits Kalmeshwar during August-November where he was born and grew up.

What is wonderful is that Kallmeshwar-Kondhali range is not wildlife sanctuary but just a territorial forest“Generally, managers of territorial forest have a bad reputation when it comes to conservation and protecting wildlife, but Kalmeshwar-Kondhali ranges are an exception, thanks to community participation and support by Nagpur division,” says honorary wildlife warden Kundan Hate who is monitoring the tigers in the area.

The increasing tiger population here calls for better habitat development. At present, prey base is not adequate and tigers mostly prey on cattle. There are several perennial water bodies but also threats like illegal sand excavation, brick kilns near forest, explosives units, and other industries.

Pardhi poachers from Gondkhairi also sneak into the forest in search of small animals and wild birds. The biggest threat seems to be the four-laned NH6, where no mitigation measures have been provided by NHAI though it bisects Bor and Kalmeshwar corridor. There have been several wild animal deaths near Ringnabodi on the highway.

“These biodiverse patches outside protected areas play a key role in conservation and set an example of how people and tigers can live in harmony. Not a single attack on humans have been reported in the last five years,” says Hate.