[Prafulla Kaman]
PASIGHAT, 8 May: Wildlife officials here in East Siang district have confirmed the presence of a Royal Bengal tiger in Daying Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary (DEMWLS).
DFO Kempi Ete said on Friday that a Royal Bengal tiger was photographed during a camera-trap survey conducted recently in the sanctuary with technical support from Bengaluru-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE).
The DFO said also that it was the first-ever camera trap photograph to confirm the presence of the big cat in the sanctuary.
Forest officials had earlier documented indirect signs of possible tiger movement on the periphery of the wildlife sanctuary.
“We conducted multiple rounds of camera-trapping survey to monitor tiger movement in and around the sanctuary, but earlier efforts yielded no photographic evidence to confirm the presence of a tiger there,” the DFO said. She said that regular surveillance and monitoring on wildlife movements in the area has been intensified.
As part of the surveillance, she said, camera traps have been installed at strategic locations to capture images of tiger and other wild animal to record their presence in the area.
Ete further said that the surveys also unveiled the presence of critically endangered Chinese pangolin and hispid hare, a rare rabbit species, in the sanctuary.
“This historic photographic evidence of a tiger along with other highly threatened mammals is a testament to the longstanding conservation efforts of the staff of DEMWLS since its inception,” Rajkamal Goswami, who is leading the ATREE’s biodiversity & bioresource conservation initiatives in Arunachal Pradesh, said.
The wildlife officials reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen habitat protection, scientific monitoring, and community-led conservation efforts to ensure the long-term survival of wildlife in the landscape.
