Maharashtra's Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) has started testing automated water management systems to prevent wastage and maintain adequate water levels at watering holes to ensure water availability all year round for animals within the reserve. The pilot project has been introduced in Chandrapur district, wherein sensors will be used to monitor water levels and control pumping operations without human intervention.
TATR Field Director Dr Prabhu Nath Shukla has said that the technology automatically switches on water pumps when levels drop below a predetermined threshold and turns them off once the waterhole reaches its capacity.
The system is expected to address a recurring problem at artificial water sources, where solar-powered pumps sometimes continue operating even after these watering wholes become full, resulting in overflow and wastage of groundwater.
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At present, the tiger reserve has approximately 130 natural water sources and 350 artificial ones, several of which depend on solar-powered pumps to maintain water supplies during extreme heat.
Despite unusually high temperatures last summer, reserve authorities managed to maintain water availability without deploying tankers to replenish the waterholes.
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However, managing these pumping systems manually presents operational challenges. Forest personnel must travel to individual sites to switch off pumps, an exercise that can expose them to potential encounters with wild animals. The new equipment will reduce human intervention, conserve groundwater and improve operational efficiency to ensure a dependable water supply, especially during dry spells.
"TATR is presenting the system as a first-of-its-kind sensor-based approach to wildlife waterhole management. Its wider use could strengthen water conservation, help the management in providing water availability to the wildlife even during drought conditions, and also aid groundwater conservation," Shukla said, according to PTI.
The reserve is also working to distribute water sources more evenly across its core forest area and have divided the region into grids that have easy access to wateringholes.
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Meanwhile, down south in Tamil Nadu, an injured male tiger was captured near Gudalur in the Nilgiris on Thursday morning. The animal was trapped in a cage installed near Halalla area, close to Silver Cloud, following reports of its movement across the O'Valley region.
The operation came weeks after another tiger was captured following two fatal attacks on residents in the O'Valley-Lauriston area on August 9 and August 21.
The incidents triggered protests, with local bodies demanding urgent intervention from the forest department. Authorities subsequently captured the tiger on September 18 and transferred it to Vandalur Zoo.
More recently, sightings of a second tiger with visible injuries prompted forest teams to intensify surveillance across the Mudumalai, Gudalur and O'Valley forest belts, where officials deployed cages at selected locations, eventually capturing the injured animal during the early hours of Thursday. The Forest Department said the tiger's next destination and further management would be determined in accordance with instructions issued by senior officials.
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