Recent records of tigers, Asiatic wild dogs, leopards and sloth bears in wooded areas designated as “municipal forests” have strengthened the demands of conservationists to bring them under the control of the forest department.
According to forest department officials, these forests are under the control of the Udhagamandalam Municipality and the revenue department, and encompass patches of forest that are contiguous with other designated reserve forests, facilitating the movement of wildlife and providing crucial habitats for rare and endangered species to expand into.
According to sources in the forest department, there are believed to be at least two tigers, five leopards and at least two packs of wild dogs inhabiting the municipal forests surrounding Udhagamandalam town.
