Trap cameras have captured images of the Royal Bengal Tiger at three different loca- tions in the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, forest offi- cials have claimed.

The images were captured in February, April and August last year, forest department offi- cials said.

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According to the officials, the Neora Valley National Park and the Buxa Tiger Reserve had already recorded the pres- ence of Royal Bengal Tigers as they were clicked by trap cam- eras. The tiger’s presence was established in the Mahanan- da Wildlife Sanctuary after 1998.

Principal chief conserva- tor of forests, wildlife, and chief wildlife warden Debal Roy confirmed the findings of the tigers in the sanctuary.

“The pictures of tigers have been captured in the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctu- ary,” Mr Roy said today.

Foresters said they were waiting for comprehensive reports of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, which released data on the all-India tiger estimation through Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 April.

Chief conservator of forests, wildlife, north, Rajendra Jakhar said the forest department had been monitoring the ani- mals with the help of trap cameras in the sanctuary since September, 2021.

“We will try to ascertain the number of the big cats there. The findings indicate that the sanctuary has developed ideal habitats for tigers. We are tak- ing necessary steps so that they do not get disturbed,” Mr Jakhar said.

Well-placed sources said the pictures were captured in the north range near Kalijhora, Seventh Mile and Choklong block.

“Though the stripe pat- terns of the tiger were differ- ent, it appears that it is one sin- gle animal,” a senior forest department official said.

There are 80 cameras set up in the sanctuary, while most of them are high-end ones.

“The department keeps upgrading them round the year,” an official said.

It may be recalled here that the presence of a tiger was found in the park located in the upper reaches of Kalimpong district after a taxi driver clicked its picture in 2017.

The picture of the tiger had been captured in the trap camera in the same year after that. Later, tigers had been pho- tographed by trap cameras in the park in 2018 and 2019. A camera clicked a tiger in the BTR after nearly three decades in December, 2021.

Trap cameras installed in the sanctuary had earlier cap- tured images of the endangered and rare species like the Asi- atic Wild Dog or ‘dhole.’ The dog, which is known as Cuon alpinus, has been listed as endangered by the Interna- tional Union for Conservation of Nature.

The cameras have also clicked pictures of some other animal species, including the crab eating mongoose, leop- ard cats and fishing cats in the sanctuary.