Tigers seen chewing on plastic container in Corbett Tiger Reserve, probe ordered
From deep seabeds to birds stomachs, plastic has reached everywhere and the menace is nowhere close to getting a solution. Another picture bringing to light the issue has surfaced today, where three tigers can be seen chewing on a plastic container.
From deep seabeds to birds stomachs, plastic has reached everywhere and the menace is nowhere close to getting a solution. Another picture bringing to light the issue has surfaced on Friday (February 7), where three tigers can be seen chewing on a plastic container.
Taken at Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR), Uttarakhand, authorities have received pictures of a tigress and her cubs chewing on a plastic container in the Ram Ganga river in its Dhikala zone.
After the picture was shared on Twitter by Indian Forest Services officer Parveen Kaswan, it was widely reshared with many criticising the forest officials and discussing plastic pollution.
Nothing. Few #tigers playing with #plastic they just received as a gift from us & delivered by this river at #Corbett. That is how deep into #forests & #oceans this plastic menace is growing. Hundreds of wildlife is dying because of them. Picture by Trikansh Sharma. Do we care. pic.twitter.com/dHE58Yarjv
— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) February 7, 2020
As there is a ban on the use of plastic in the CTR, which is a protected area, an investigation has been ordered to find out how the container seen in the photographs found its way into the reserve, CTR Deputy Director Chandrashekhar Joshi said.
Though the matter is under investigation, the possibility that the plastic container may have flowed down the river from the hills cannot be ruled out, he said.
The river flows from Gairsain in Chamoli district to Ramnagar in Nainital district, Joshi added.
There are several villages located on the banks of the river and the container may have been dumped by one of its residents, he said.
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The pictures of the tigers chewing on the plastic drum is worrying as it raises questions on the safety of the animals in the protected zone, Joshi said.
When contacted, state Forest Minister Harak Singh Rawat said the matter was “serious” and he had sought a detailed report on it.
The pictures were provided to the CTR authorities recently by a tourist who came upon the sight during a visit.