After reports of tigers disappearing from the Sariska National Park, a red alert has been sounded in the Corbett National Park in Uttaranchal. The park, which is being touted as the single success story with its authorities claiming increased tiger sightings in the past few months, could now become a soft target for poachers, the park authorities believe.

A tiger’s hide was seized at Kaladungri, 25 km from the park, a week ago thus alarming the park authorities of the poaching threat. According to Field Director D.V.S. Khati, the authorities were on alert and the security has been beefed up and patrolling intensified.

The tourists visiting the park are frisked apart from the vehicles to ensure that poachers don’t enter it in the garb of tourists. The villages around the park were being closely monitored for any suspicious activity, the park authorities added.

Over 250 informers hired by the Forest Department, after the infamous elephant-poaching incident a few years ago, have also been alerted. The park had hit the international headlines after a large scale poaching of 12 elephants a few years ago. The census would be conducted in the park in June.