New Delhi: The 2018 tiger census report has recommended turning the Wayanad wildlife sanctuary in Kerala into a tiger reserve. According to the census report, Wayand wildlife sanctuary has more tigers when compared to other tiger reserves and the tiger density is also high.
Wayanad wildlife sanctuary lies adjacent to the tiger reserves in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Combine the three and there are most number of tigers and elephants in an area in the world. This is the reason why the census report seeks to turn the Wayanad wildlife sanctuary into a tiger reserve.
Tigers in Wayanad
Wayanad wildlife sanctuary was established in 1973. For the census, 312 cameras were set up inside the sanctuary. The cameras captured 1,380 images of tigers including 29 cubs. The images showed that the sanctuary had 120 tigers.
Other areas
The census was conducted in Parambikulam and Periyar tiger reserves and wildlife zones in Malayattoor and Ranni besides the Silent Valley national park. According to the census, there are 27 tigers in Parambikulam, 26 in Periyar, 7 in Malayatoor zone and 7 in Silent Valley.