Pasighat: Arunachal’s Mebo Forest Range witnessed an adult Royal Bengal Tiger sighting by dumper truck drivers from M/s Yagona Stone Crusher unit at Siku RF areas on Tuesday, while traveling to quarry sites at Siku-Siang riverbed via the old PWD Komlighat road.
When asked about the sighting, eyewitness and dumper truck driver Gopal Rai informed that he, along with his team of laborers, was passing through the RF areas when they suddenly spotted the tiger resting under the tree sheds, a few meters away from the kutcha road that leads to the quarry sites near the Siku and Siang River confluence.
This road, also called the old Komlighat road, was once used by people of Mebo Sub-Division and eastern Arunachal to reach Pasighat and the state capital Itanagar via ferry services over the Siang River, before the construction of the present Raneghat bridge about two decades ago.
“We were surprised to see the Tiger, because we hadn’t seen any tiger there till that day though we often happened to come across the pugmarks. The Tiger was seemingly not very afraid of the human encounter and passing of trucks nearby, so we got the enough chance to record videos of the sighting by our mobile phone before finally the tiger got up and walked away inside the jungle slowly,” added Gopal Rai.
While talking to the reporter, Gopal seemed worried that the recorded video clip of the tiger, which had been widely shared on WhatsApp, might attract action from the forest department.
Meanwhile, upon receiving information about the tiger sighting, Mebo MLA Oken Tayeng passed it on to the Dy. Commissioner, Pasighat, and DFOs of Pasighat Forest Division and D. Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary to physically and officially ascertain the presence of the animal in the region.
Tayeng said that the sighting, if confirmed, would be good news for conservation and from a healthy ecological perspective, and public awareness and caution will also be needed for human safety.
After confirmation from Mebo Forest Range, RFO Domek Koyu, DFO Pasighat Forest Division Hano Moda, along with DFO D. Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary Kempi Ete and RFO Borguli Wildlife Range C.K. Chowpoo, visited the exact sighting sites.
“Today, the team from Pasighat territorial division led by DFO Hano Moda, along with RFO Mebo and myself, along with RFO Borguli WL Range, went for verification of the location where the tiger video was taken. We confirmed the location from the person who took the video, and pugmarks were found at the site. As per the eyewitness, the tiger was seen yesterday early in the morning. I take this opportunity to appeal to all concerned stakeholders, particularly our Mebo denizens, to not panic and support us in protecting our treasured national animal, which has returned to this landscape after almost a decade,” said the DFO, D. Ering WLS.
Meanwhile, DFO Pasighat Forest Division, Hano Moda, issued a wildlife advisory today after inspecting the tiger sighting sites. He advised concerned villagers of Mebo, Sigar, Ralling, Motum, and Ayeng to maintain precautions.
The tiger is generally elusive and tends to avoid humans. As a precaution, villagers are advised to avoid forest areas at night, return early from fields, move in groups of 2–3, and report any tiger sightings to the department.
“The sighting of the tiger is conclusive evidence of its presence in the nearby wildlife sanctuary (D. Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary) as well as in other forest areas where pugmarks and animal kills have been reported from time to time. Although animal kills by tiger or leopard have been reported every year around this time, and until now the possibility of a tiger was always ruled out based on pugmarks alone, this sighting proves the clear presence of a tiger as well,” said Moda, adding that the tiger is strongly protected under Schedule-I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
The Bengal tiger, India’s national animal and a key species for conservation, is an important wildlife species requiring protection.
Its population in the wild in India is critical, with only about 3,680 tigers at present, constituting about 75% of the world’s total wild tiger population.
Ecologically, the presence of tigers indicates a healthy prey base and demonstrates the rich biodiversity and soundness of the forest ecosystem, the DFO noted.
Public awareness about cleanliness, forest and wildlife conservation, and eco-tourism has gradually increased in Mebo Sub-Division, supported by initiatives like the Eco-Clean Mebo Mission (ECMM) led by ADC Mebo and MLA Mebo.
Under the Eco-Clean Mebo Mission (ECMM), villages across Mebo Sub-Division, from Bodak to Aohali and Mebo to Mer-Gadum, have undertaken initiatives to maintain cleanliness, plant indigenous trees, flowers, and Burmese grapes, and in some areas achieve zero-hunting status.
The mission, guided by village elders like Gaon Burahs, has positively influenced public mindset, particularly among youth, toward environmental conservation.
Plantation activities and wildlife protection are increasing, and the recent sighting of a Royal Bengal Tiger reflects the growing ecological awareness in the region.