Kali tiger reserve in Uttara Kannada among top 5 in forest cover

BELAGAVI: The Kali tiger reserve in Uttara Kannada district has figured among the top five in the country for forest cover percentage among tiger reserves.
The Kali has 92.45% forest cover and four tigers, according to new forest report.
This Kali tiger reserve is in the fourth place, following Pakke in Arunachal Pradesh with 96.83% forest cover, Achanakmar in Chhattisgarh with 95.63% and Simlipal in Odisha with 94.17% forest cover.Dampa in Mizoram with 92.05% cover is in the fifth place.
However, the assessment between 2011 and 2021 shows that Kali has lost forest cover by 13.14 sqkm.
The forest area in 2011 was 1,318.36 sqkm and in the 2021 report it has come down to 1,305.22 sqkm. The total area of the tiger reserve is 1,411.75 sqkm. The forest cover in Bandipur, Bhadra, Nagarahole and B M Hills tiger reserves are 53.53%, 74.45%. 75.43% and 86.21%, respectively.
Bhadra has lost forest cover by 53.05 sqkm, while Bandipur has lost 7.39 sqkm. B M Hills has gained forest cover by 16.77 sqkm and Nagarahole has lost 42.38 sqkm.
The Kali has 273.74 sqkm of very dense forest, 962.33 sqkm of moderately dense forest and 69.15 sqkm of open forest. It should be noted that the tiger corridor of the Anshi-Dandeli-Sharavathi valley is one of thickest corridors in terms of forest cover. The total forest cover in the corridor is 93.67% across 405.44 sqkm, among the top three among forest corridors across the country.
The highest number of tigers in the state are in Nagarahole which has 127 of the big cats, followed by Bandipur at 126. A conservationist said that although the data showed four tigers in Kali in 2018, currently the population has jumped to at least 15. Rahul Bavaji, a conservationist said the decrease in forest cover is unfortunate. He said the forest department must ensure protection of grasslands in the woods which will help the tiger population.