Undergrowth trouble for tiger census

As many as 500 people, including 250 forest personnel and 250 volunteers, have been engaged in the census.
Image for representational purpose only
Image for representational purpose only

TIRUNELVELI: Reviewing the fourth day progress of the tiger census conducted by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) at Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), deputy director (Ambasamudram) Bargavtheja said that while last year's monsoon improved the wildlife population across the region, it made it difficult for them to record the pug marks owing to the overgrown population of flora.

However, Bargavtheja mentioned, “The team assigned with the job has successfully recorded pug marks and faeces of various wild animals such as tiger, leopard, deer, elephant and bear in Mundanthurai, Papanasam and Kadayam forest ranges. As last year's monsoon was good, the spread of wildlife is better. On fourth day, aspects, including the growth of flora, have been recorded."

It may be remembered that the eight-day census has begun at KMTR on January27. As many as 500 people, including 250 forest personnel and 250 volunteers, have been engaged in the census. The teams are equipped with gears such as binoculars, guns, GPS devices, cameras, machetes and communication devices to carry out the four-phased census. Their work includes observation of pug marks, scratches made by the predators on trees, prey and faeces. The teams have also been involved in installing as many 500 cameras throughout their paths.  

For the first time in India, the department is also provided with smartphones installed with Monitoring System for Tiger-intensive Protection and Ecological Status app to update digitally. The data collected will be sent to Wildlife Institute of India, which will release the official number of tigers inside the 1,600 sq km KMTR region.

First time in India smartphones to update data in Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve

For the first time in India, the department is also provided with smartphones installed with Monitoring System for Tiger-intensive Protection and Ecological Status app in order to update the data digitally. The data collected by the forest department will be sent to Wildlife Institute of India, which will release the official number of tigers inhabiting inside the 1,600 sq km Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) region

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