NEW DELHI: (AMN) The ministry of Environment and Forest has decided to set up eight more reserves for the wild cat within six months. The eight reserves will be in addition to the present 39 tiger sanctuaries.
The new tiger reserves include Satyamangalam Tiger Reserve, which used to be a hideout of sandalwood smuggler Veerappan. Talking about the efforts to conserve the endangered species, at a function here Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh said that he hoped the tiger census would be released in two weeks.
Claiming that he didn’t have inside information about the tiger census, the Minister said good news about the tiger population is expected from the tiger reserves, including Kaziranga in Assam and Parambikkulam bordering Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
The other new reserves include B.R. Hills in Karnataka, two in Maharashtra, two tiger reserves in UP, including Pilibhit tiger reserve, and one each in Madhya Pradesh and Orissa.