Tiger Reserves

The Uttarakhand forest western circle accounts for 30 to 40 per cent of the total tigers in the state. This was revealed in the phase IV monitoring report on the status of tigers, habitats and corridors in the western circle. The monitoring revealed the presence of 119 adult tigers and 11 cubs in the western circle, a big presence by any standards.
As many as 38 tigers and four cubs were recorded in the Ramnagar tiger division. Another 32 tigers were captured from the Terai west division whereas from Terai east, a total of 22 tigers and three cubs were recorded. Further, 18 tigers and two cubs were captured in camera traps in Haldwani and a total of nine tigers and two cubs were recorded from the Terai central division.
Corridors and forest continuity has been the main reason behind the rise in the tiger population. Terai (east, west and central), Ramnagar and Haldwani forest divisions are part of the western circle.
The forest divisions are also territorial forest divisions of Corbett Tiger Reserve. The western circle has a total of 2,573 square kilometers of area that include 1,565 square kilometers of natural forests and 1,007 square kilometers under forest plantation. The monitoring was held from January 23 to May 23 this year. As many as 947 photographs of tigers were taken during the monitoring.
Surendra Mehra, Director of the Corbett Tiger Reserve, who was conservator of forests (western circle) when the monitoring was underway, asserts that the western circle keeps a sustainable breeding population of tigers. He said it was for the first time that tiger monitoring exercise had been carried out at such a large landscape that is more than 2,500 square kilometers. He said it was heartening to know that that out of all tigers found outside tiger reserves in the country, more than one third were found in the western circle.
He said the outcome of monitoring exercise indicated that the tiger distribution was well spread out in the western circle with certain linkages in the form of corridors and forest connectivity.