Once the hideout of notorious wildlife smuggler Veerappan and seen as an important tiger corridor, the Male Mahadeshwara (MM) Hills Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka’s Chamarajanagara district is all set to become the official home of the royal big cats. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has given in-principle nod for upgrading the sanctuary to the tiger reserve.
The State Government has already given approval for its upgradation and now it will have to notify the area to make the region inviolate for the endangered big cats.
As the adjoining tiger habitats — Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) in Karnataka and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) in Tamil Nadu has been acting as an effective source sink landscape, increasing the density of big cats and their prey in MM Hills, which itself has a resident tigers, the NTCA approval plugs the patch and forms a contiguous landscape of 3,000 sq km of wildlife habitat.
In addition to connecting BRT, through the Edyaralli-Doddasampige elephant corridor, MM Hills also spread over 906 sq km area connects the Bannerghatta National Park.
This is one of the largest landscapes in the country for the conservation of tigers, elephants and other large and wide-ranging mammalian species. The move will go a long way in ensuring protection to the endangered species.
MM Hills will be the sixth tiger reserve in the state and the 51st in the country.
“Based on the confluence of the Eastern and Western ghats, the sanctuary is contiguous with both BRT Tiger Reserve on the western side and Satyamangalam Reserve in Tamil Nadu on the southern side. As per the All India Tiger Estimation, 2018, this area is spread over 907 sqkm and has 15 tigers,” said a senior NTCA official.
He said that in-principle approval has been given, Now the State Government will have to notify the area that will make it official home of the big cats.
Although the number of species present may be less compared to Bandipur or Nagarhole, it is extremely diverse. Biologically, it is an important repository for the future, what with the herbivorous population increasing. There is scope for the expansion of tiger population, added forest officials. Besides being home to tigers, leopards, sloth bears and elephants, the sanctuary also has dholes, antelopes, grizzled giant squirrels and honey badgers.
As per the recent tiger census, Karnataka has 524 big cats. Declaring the MM Hills as tiger reserve will ensure young big cats to have their new territory.
However, the Government has tough task ahead given that there are about 49 forest villages and 94 revenue villages on the peripheries of the sanctuary which will have to be relocated by the officials to make the area inviolate for the big cats.
