A survey by the Jharkhand forest department has indicated the presence of tigers at the Palamau Tiger Reserve (PTR), barely a week after a nationwide estimate found no trace of the big cats in the sanctuary, a senior official said.
The All India Tiger Estimation Report-2018, released on July 29, did not register existence of tigers at the PTR.
"Marks about the presence of two tigers and one tigress were found during the survey at the reserve, spread over 1,124 sq km," Additional Chief Secretary (Forests, Environment and Climate Change) Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi said.
Pugmarks and tiger scats are considered as evidence about the presence of tigers in an area.
Indications of the presence of big cats were also found in Hazaribag, and Saranda forest in West Singhbhum district, Chaturvedi said.
The Tiger Habitat Zone, through which the animals move, passes through Hazaribag, Chatra, Lohardaga and Palamau in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.
On the initiatives taken up by the state government, he said, "Plantation, environment protection along with forests and wildlife are among the most important priorities of the government."