‘After 110 years’: Tiger spotted at Kalesar National Park in Yamunanagar

It’s proud moment for Haryana. The last sighting (of tiger) in the Kalesar area was in 1913, says state forests and wildlife minister Kanwar Pal

Wildlife officials and animal lovers are elated after a tiger was caught on camera-trap at the Kalesar National Park in Haryana’s Yamunanagar district.

Vineet Garg, additional chief secretary (ACS), forests and wildlife, said the tiger is believed to have reached Kalesar from Rajaji National Park in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. (HT Photo)

“It is a proud moment for the state as the tiger was seen in the Kalesar area after 110 years,” said Haryana forests and wildlife minister Kanwar Pal, while sharing the two pictures of the big cat on Thursday.

“The last sighting was in 1913. Forests and wildlife are our natural heritage and we must make united efforts to protect them,” the minister, also an MLA from Jagadhri constituency, wrote on Facebook.

“The tiger was seen on April 18 and April 19. Both the images were captured by a camera-trap at the park. We have formed a team to follow the pugmarks to ascertain the age, sex and other details of the animal,” chief conservator of forests (wildlife), Panchkula, ML Rajvanshi, said.

Vineet Garg, additional chief secretary (ACS), forests and wildlife, said the tiger is believed to have reached Kalesar from Rajaji National Park in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

“The Kalesar park is adjacent to Simbalbara National Park in the Himachal’s Sirmaur district. These two parks are connected to Rajaji National Park through a dense forest. It appears that tigers are using this corridor to move around,” said Garg.

Spread in 11, 570 acres in the Shivalik foothills, the Kalesar National Park is home to a large number of wild animals like leopards, elephants, wild boar, sambar and several species of birds. In sFebruary, two wild elephants had reportedly come to Kalesar from Rajaji National Park.

In February, an adult tiger was captured on camera at the Simbalbara National Park. The Shimla wildlife division had shared the picture of the big cat on its Twitter handle on February 21.