Dudhwa to install 450 cameras for tiger census

Lakhimpur Kheri (UP), Nov 14 (PTI) The Dudhwa NationalPark, situated on the India-Nepal border, will install over450 cameras at all identified area...

Lakhimpur Kheri (UP), Nov 14 (PTI) The Dudhwa NationalPark, situated on the India-Nepal border, will install over450 cameras at all identified areas with tiger movements forits biennial census of the big cat, an official said today.

The park, which will open its doors for the upcomingtourist season from tomorrow, will start the census in acouple of days, Mahavir Kaujlagi, Deputy Director, DudhwaTiger Reserve said.

Apart from the Dudhwa field staff, experts of WorldWildlife Fund (WWF) will also be engaged in the counting job.

The counting of tigers will be held simultaneously inDudhwa National Park, Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary andKatarniaghat Sanctuary through the camera trap method,Kaujlagi said.

"For the purpose, around 450 cameras will be installed atall identified areas having movement of tigers. Stripes onevery tiger are unique and distinct and thus play a key rolein deciding their numbers in an area. After the two-month longcounting exercise, the population of tigers in Dudhwa tigerreserve will be ascertained," Kaujlagi said.

The national park opens to the public on November 15 andcloses on June 15 every year.

Nearly 50 nature guides, equipped with sophisticatedbinoculars, will help tourists navigate the park, Kaujlagisaid.

"Ten UP eco-tourism nine-seater vehicles and over twodozen Gypsies will be available to facilitate the tourists toenjoy the beauty of Dudhwa's wildlife. Tourists who have theirown vehicles with high ground clearance and safety norms maybe allowed, subject to certain conditions," Kaujlagi added.

The park is expecting 11 elephants from Karnataka withinthe next few days, to add to the 14 existing elephants.

The Dudhwa National Park is a national park in the Terairegion of Uttar Pradesh, spread over an area of 490.3 squarekilometre with a buffer zone of 190 square kilometres.

Nearly 400 species of birds, tigers, swamp deer, spotteddeer, barking deer and long spans of Sal trees and greeneryadd to the pleasure and excitement of tourists. PTI CORR NAVNKS.

This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com