Ramnagar (Uttarakhand), June 1 (ANI): Scorching heat dried up natural waterholes in one of the biggest parks for tigers, the Jim Corbett national Park, forcing forest authorities to supply water to ponds and water bodies through tankers.
May and June are usually the hottest months of the year in India with temperatures ranging from 42 to 47 degrees Celsius in many places.
The Park has about 50 waterholes in the region, which are being filled with water more often using water tanks, because of the soaring mercury.
Director of Jim Corbett national park, Sameer Sinha said that authorities are constantly monitoring the waterholes to prevent poaching.
"These water holes also make wild animals vulnerable because there is a higher probability of locating these animals near the water hole which is why our team is constantly monitoring these water holes on a daily basis," said Sinha.
The heat wave, with temperatures around 45 degrees Celsius, has hit much of India even as the country waits for the annual monsoon rains to reach the mainland.
While tiger numbers have risen slightly in recent years, India has fought mostly a losing battle to conserve tigers against poaching and habitat loss. Tiger numbers have plummeted 97 percent from 100,000 at the turn of the last century. (ANI)