Tigress Chanda spotted at Maharashtra’s Sahyadri Tiger Reserve; tracking teams monitor movement

Tigress STR 04 (Chanda) at Sahaydri Tiger Reserve. Pic/Viraj Athalye

Tigress STR 04 (Chanda), released in the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR) in western Maharashtra, has been keeping the landscape active as she moves extensively across the region to establish her territory. The field staff have been recording her pugmarks and hearing her calls consistently over the past few days. Along with Chanda, other male tigers, too, have begun frequenting tourist roads more often, with their presence captured through fresh tracks and camera-trap images.

STR spans across the districts of Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, and Ratnagiri. According to the Maharashtra Forest Department, four more female tigers from TATR will be released into STR.

"Tigress STR 04 (Chanda) has been actively moving across the Sahyadri landscape as she works to establish her territory. People noticing her pugmarks and hearing her calls regularly were lucky; one also had sighted Chanda. Male tigers have also increased their presence along tourist roads, which is evident from fresh tracks and camera-trap images. It will be interesting to see which male approaches her first," said STR Field Director Tushar Chavan.

STR Field Director Tushar Chavan

The tigress was brought to Chandoli National Park from TATR and was fitted with a radio collar around her neck and released. The radio collar enables 24X7 monitoring through satellite telemetry and VHF antenna tracking. Furthermore, trained teams from the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve, Chandoli National Park, and WII have been deployed for continuous observation.

Key monitoring components installed by the Maharashtra Forest Department include:

• Satellite- and VHF-based movement tracking
• Ground verification by field teams
• Documentation of movement patterns, habitat use, and hunting behaviour
• Preventive measures to reduce human-wildlife conflict

STR is an important part of the corridor connecting Tilari, Radhanagari, Chandoli, Koyna and Kali Tiger Reserves in Karnataka. There are about 32 tigers in this corridor, of which 14 are in the Sahyadri area of Western Maharashtra. The Maharashtra Forest Department plans to reintroduce tigers. Efforts are also being made to increase the tiger prey in the area, such as the herbivore species, including Sambar and Chital.