The Naxalites are expanding their tentacles into the tiger territory. Thirty per cent of India’s tiger reserves are already under their control.

Indian forest officials, from the states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, present at the Global Tiger Recovery Programme (GTRP), complained of increasing Naxal infiltration in India’s heartland. The tiger reserves comprising Valmiki in Bihar, Palamau in Jharkhand, Indravati in Chhattisgarh, Buxa in West Bengal and Simplipal in Orissa are some of the reserves bearing the brunt of the Naxal menace.

VALMIKI NAGAR (BIHAR): Bihar is planning to create more grasslands in its only tiger reserve to help support more prey animals for the big cats that currently number 11. At present, just five percent of the 880-sq km Valmiki Tiger Reserve is under grasslands. The park management hopes more grassland will support more prey animals that will in turn support more tigers.

The tiger has traversed 300 km from the Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) to reach this island covered by tall grasses and with plenty of neelgai and wild pigs for prey.
The matter of concern for the state government, as it is for the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), is that this majestic animal should not stray into a heavily populated village where there is a strong likelihood of the animal coming to harm.

In the backdrop of concerns regarding the dwindling number of tigers in the country, the ongoing tiger census has brought some more alarming news from Bihar. At the Valmiki Tiger Reserve

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