The spotting of pugmarks of an adult Royal Bengal tiger inside the Poba reserved forest (RF) near East Siang district is good news for the wildlife enthusiasts of the state. This is for the second time that pugmarks have been spotted in the same area. In November 2017 also, pugmarks of a Royal Bengal tiger were spotted by the forest officials from Assam. Proper research has to be done to further validate the findings of the forest officials. Arunachal Pradesh is home to three major tiger reserves – Pakke, Namdhapa and Kamlang.
Also, in December 2018, a research team from the Wildlife Institute of India found a tiger in a snowy, high-altitude area of the Dibang region. The study revealed the first photographic evidence of tigers in the snow, after Russia’s Amur tigers. Arunachal Pradesh is also the only state that is believed to have all the four major varieties of big cats in its jungles – tiger, leopard, clouded leopard and snow leopard – and is home to lesser-known feline species like the golden and marble cats. Adding to it, this fresh spotting of pugmarks in a new territory like the Poba RF is exciting news for the wildlife lovers. The state government, particularly the environment & forests department, should focus on carrying out more research in the areas where the possibilities of finding tigers is high, so that they can be protected. The local villagers should be involved as they have better knowledge of the landscape and geography of the areas.