PANJIM, MARCH 11
Environmentalist, Rajendra Kerkar has said that the proposed animal census in state’s wildlife sanctuaries should be done on scientific basis.
Kerkar feels that by conducting animal census, the state will be in better position to predict whether Goa is a tiger habitat or not.
“If the census is done scientifically than it will surely prove existence of tigers in the state,” he said.
Kerkar said that the protection of sanctuaries like Mhadei, Netravali and Bhagwan Mahaveer will provide continuous corridor to wild animals
“The environmentalists are always pressing for declaration of these sanctuaries as tiger reserves so that the mining companies are kept at a distance from where even if they want, they can’t peep into it,” he added.
Kerkar opined that while conducting the census the shadows of mining magnets should be kept at bay.
It may be recalled that the state had recently witnessed killing of a tiger and existence of a tigress in Mhadei wildlife sanctuary basin.
The forest department officials confirmed that the census held in 2002 had counted presence of four tigers in the state based on pugmarks and other related signs of the wild beast. However, census conducted in 2006 could not come to any results as the Wildlife Institute of India is yet to compile the results.