PILIBHIT: Forest department officials have raised concerns after more than 10 tigers mysteriously disappeared from the sugarcane fields of Pilibhit‘s Amaria block over the last two years, with leopards taking over their habitat, reports Keshav Agarwal.
In the first such move to address the issue of missing “sugarcane tigers” (the big cats getting the name as they made the lush fields their home), Pilibhit Tiger Reserve divisional forest officer Manish Singh has asked the forest department to form a high-level panel to determine whether they were poached or migrated.
In a letter to UP’s principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) Sanjay Shrivastav, Singh said, “The disappearance of the sugarcane tigers could be attributed to either poaching or migration. Both situations require urgent and effective action.” Singh also proposed relocating some of PTR’s “excess” tigers to other sanctuaries”.
