Karnataka: Grass back in Kudremukh National Park, so are tigers!

Chikkamagaluru: Grass and scrub have started to reappear in the  mountains once ravaged by mining in the Kudremukh National Park and to the relief of forest officers here, with the gradual return of green cover,  tigers and bisons have begun to invade the area again.

The Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL) was active for about three decades in the park before  it was shut down by a Supreme Court order in 2005.

The years of mining, however, left the top layer of soil in the mountain ranges eroded and loosened the soil elsewhere, resulting in frequent landslides,  endangering the lives of people in the area.

 “Once the mining stopped we began soil conservation measures and built gully check dams to make sure the  mountains were restored to their former glory and slowly they began to go green again,” said Assistant Conservator of Forests, Kudremukh, Bhaskar.

With grass as tall as 1.5 feet growing in some former mining areas, forest officials feel their efforts at soil conservation have started to pay off, especially as there are fewer landslides now. Scrubs have also made their way into the areas stripped bare by mining in the park.

Seeing the mountains  go green again, the  forest officials began to keep a lookout for wild animals in the old mining areas and soon confirmed the presence of five tigers through camera trappings.

“We are not sure if these tigers are residents of the park or are from neighbouring forests and are merely passing through,” said a park official,  adding that a study needed to be done to determine the number of big cats in Kudremukh National Park, which is spread across Chikkamagaluru, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi and covers 600.57 sq kms.