[ Prafulla Kaman ]
RUKSIN, 15 Oct: Foresters of Jonai forest range in Assam claimed to have spotted pugmarks of a Royal Bengal tiger in the Poba reserve forest (RF) near here in East Siang district recently.
Range Forest Officer (RFO) of Jonai, Debabrata Gogoi, informed that the foresters of his office sighted pugmarks of an adult Royal Bengal tiger while conducting a routine patrolling in Poba RF recently.
In the wake of the reported movement of elephants, tiger and other wild animals in the RF, Gogoi issued a public notice imposing certain restrictions for public safety and protection of wildlife.
All kinds of reel shooting, film shooting, photography, videography for social media, and other purposes have been strictly prohibited in the RF until further order.
The order cautioned that any person violating the order would be liable for legal action and the Forest Department would not be responsible for any untoward incident arising from violation of the order.
However, any individual or group visiting the reserve forest solely for exploring its national beauty would be given prior permission by the Forest Department to enter the forest "with creative purposes."
Poba RF has two parts - the upper part falls under Ruksin forest range in Arunachal Pradesh and its lower part is included in the Dhemaji forest division in Assam. National Highway 15, passing along the Assam-Arunachal boundary (Ruksin to Pasighat), divides the RF.
Movement of tigers in the forests of Assam-Arunachal boundary areas have been reported since 2017.
In January last year, foresters of Jonai noticed tiger pugmarks at Kobu Chapori sandbar near the Poba RF. In the subsequent period, foresters of Pasighat forest division reported movement of an adult Royal Bengal tiger in the Mebo reserve forest.
The Poba RF and the Kobu chapori proposed RF are adjacent to Daying Ering Wildlife Sanctuary of Arunachal and Dibru Saikhowa National Park in Assam's Tinsukia district across the Siang River.
A senior forest official of Arunachal, Boken Pao, said the region covering Poba RF, Kobuchapori and adjacent Daying Ering Wildlife Sanctuary are not identified as tiger habitat, but male tigers visit the area from time to time in search of mates.
On the other hand, officials of the Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary in Lower Dibang Valley district of Arunachal have reported that an adult Royal Bengal tiger was seen moving near Tiwari gaon.
Forest officials of the division said that their staffers are on the ground and making every effort to trace the tiger and cage it as its movement near human habitations poses danger to local villagers.
