Kishanpur gets a roaring star
A young tigress named Kankatti has become a big draw for tourists in the wildlife sanctuary
ALLAHABAD: A daring young tigress named Kankatti is attracting wildlife enthusiasts and tourists in droves to Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary in Lakhimpur Kheri district of UP.
This five-year-old tigress got the name Kankatti because of subdued growth of one of her ear flaps.
“When you look at her head, it seems as if she has only one ear flap. Unlike other tigers, she is not shy at all. In fact, she surprises everyone by squatting on the forest track in the middle of numerous safari vehicles, and excited tourists want to capture her on camera,” says Sanjay Kumar, UP Relief Commissioner and wildlife photographer, on whose initiative the UP Cabinet gave approval for setting up the state’s first black buck conservation reserve in Meja, Allahabad.
As a wildlife enthusiast, Kumar has been closely following the activities of Kankatti in his spare time.
Kumar says Kankatti’s relaxed attitude towards tourist vehicles is drawing parallels with the world-famous tigress Machli and T-17 of Ranthambore and Sita of Bandhavgarh.
Mahaveer Koujalaga, deputy director of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, says, “Kankatti, the young tigress, is quite popular among tourists these days due to her daring and carefree attitude. Kankatti is being spotted regularly during the last two months. She is not at all shy, unlike other tigers and tigresses.
Owing to this unique nature, Kankatti is drawing a large number of tourists to Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary.”
Rupak De, principal chief conservator of forest, UP, says, “Kankatti is very obliging and friendly. She draws a large number of tourists these days. With the support of people, if we manage to develop more infrastructures outside this tiger reserve, we would be able to attract more tourists. At the same time, we need to educate people to respect the territory of wildlife and ensure their safety by maintaining suitable distance from them.”
Koujalaga says,“Last year we attracted around 24,000 tourists in Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. This year the percentage is likely to increase due to frequent sightings of Kankatti. We hope more and more tourists come during the next month after which the park closes for monsoon season. We are doing all that can be done to ensure the safety and security of Kankatti with the help of our special teams and hidden cameras.”
Ankit Tandon, businessman from Allahabad, says:
“Getting to see Kankatti was a great treat during my visit to Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary. Spotting a tiger is very rare in sanctuaries these days. But, when we saw Kankatti comfortably sitting on the side of road, we couldn’t believe our eyes.”
For his part, Kumar says, “Kankatti is believed to be one of the offsprings of the Jhaddi tigress, active in this area for the last seven -eight years. She has offered a part of her territory around Jhaddi Taal to her young daughter and shifted herself a little further along the Sharda. Kankatti is now proclaimed as the new Queen of the Jhaddi Lake.”
“Not many may have heard of Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary in Lakhimpur Kheri district of UP. This small sanctuary, which spreads across an area of 203 sq km, is part of the Dudhwa Tiger reserve, which also includes the Dudhwa National Park and Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary,” he adds.
This pristine Terai wilderness is located around 30 km from Dudhwa National Park at Bhira and is just threeand-a-half hours’ drive from Lucknow.
Kumar says the sanctuary has a healthy population of tigers and leopards that prefer to stay on the fringe of the park near human habitation. But spotting a tiger in these parts of the Terai is a little difficult, he says.
“The tigers here are also called the ‘Ghost of the Terai’, because of their secretive and elusive nature. But things have changed with time. The young tigress Kankatti is changing all this and is a big draw for tourists, not only from UP but also from other parts of the country,” he says.
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When you look at her head, it seems as if she has only one ear flap. Unlike other tigers, she is not shy at all. In fact, she surprises everyone by squatting on the forest track in the middle of numerous safari vehicles, and excited tourists want to capture her on camera
SANJAY KUMAR, UP relief commissioner
Wildlife photographers are now making a beeline to capture the tigress on their cameras. “Kankatti has started a new chapter in the history of Eco Tourism in the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. She is the new mascot of Kishanpur as well as the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve,” he says.
The Dudwa Tiger Reserve habitat supports the single largest population of the endangered swamp deer in India, numbering about 600 plus. The swamp deer happens to be the state animal of Uttar Pradesh. The Sharda river forms a natural boundary on one side of Kishanpur wildlife sanctuary, with Pilibhit Tiger reserve and the forest of Southern Kheri in its neighborhood. Jhaddi Taal is the heart of the sanctuary, where most of wildlife activity, including swamp deer sightings, are at its peak. This natural lake is replenished year after year by the spillover of the Sharda.
The healthy prey base makes this the most happening place of the park where tiger sightings happen.
This part of the Terai is home to tiger, leopard, Asiatic elephant, one horned rhinoceros, sloth bear, swamp deer and four other species of deer, gharials, marsh crocodiles and over 600 species of birds.