Karnataka - Mysore   

Hold your breath, you may sight an animal

— Photo: M.A. Sriram

Nature’s wonders: A leopard sighted at the Bandipur National Park.

Mysore: For the wildlife enthusiasts and tourists the timing is perfect to view some great games in the forests of Bandipur and Nagarahole.

The rate and frequency of animal sightings – particularly of the carnivores – has increased.

While an element of luck definitely plays a role in sighting wildlife, the probability of close encounters with leopards and tigers as also charging elephants is pretty high.

The increase in animal sightings may also have to do with the changing season as the winter is coming to a close with the onset of summer when the animals frequently come out of their hideouts, bask in the sunlight.

This was also vindicated by the volunteers who participated in the recently concluded tiger enumeration in which it transpired that the rate of animal encounter was the highest during the current exercise compared to earlier Census.

Hence it is not surprising that the Forest Department officials are gung-ho about the final results of the Census and expect a healthy range of the tiger population. As a senior official pointed out the density of the prey animals like spotted deer, gaur and sambhar is very high in Bandipur and Nagarahole and the forest was teeming with these animals.

In view of the high prey density, one may conclude that the carnivore population is well-supported by a healthy prey base, said the official.

In view of the high rate of sightings, the tourist crowd to Bandipur and Nagarahole national parks has perceptibly increased notably during the weekends.

But with summer around the corner, the next big assembly of animals – mostly elephants in hundreds – will be in the Kabini backwaters, say the officials.

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