But, in fact, it seems to be preying heavily on newborn deer in Nagarahole. The striped hyena is virtually absent except, perhaps, on the eastern fringes. Tigers had once become very rare, but in recent years, have made a spectacular comeback. Several sightings are recorded by tourists every year. A tigress with three cubs was seen recently.
Leopards are quite numerous, particularly near the park headquarters.
One of them, in fact, occasionally uses the ranger's compound wall as a vantage point for snatching easy prey in the form of dogs, calves and spotted deer which congregate there at night. Nagaranole is a bird-watcher's paradise, with more than 250 species. The list is endless. In spite of its ecological wealth and status as a National Park, conservation efforts in the past have been inadequate. Moreover, these efforts have been ad hoc and piecemeal, springing mainly from the initiative of individual foresters rather than from any sensible wildlife management plan.