62 tigers sighted during annual waterhole census at TATR

Chandrapur: As many as 62 tigers were sighted during the annual waterhole census conducted on May 10 at the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) here.

The Census done on the ‘Buddha Purnima’ day was conducted both in core and buffer areas of the Tiger reserve amid elaborate arrangements made by the forest department, said an official release issued by TATR here yesterday.

The waterhole census, also known as ‘Machan’ census is conducted annually on the occasion of ‘Buddha Purnima’ wherein wildlife enthusiasts along with forest staffers catch a glimpse of the wildlife seated on a ‘machan’ (an elevated structure).

The ‘machans’ are located near waterholes in the core and buffer zones of the Reserve, where animals come to quench their thirst during scorching summer.

There are 82 ‘machans’ in the core zones and 109 in the buffer zones near the waterholes and most of it are permanent structures, it said.

PTI