BENGALURU: As the country awaits the all-India tiger estimates, the Karnataka Forest Department is working overtime to release the state’s first internal assessment tiger census report in a fortnight. All eyes are on the report as, according to preliminary reports, Karnataka houses around 600 tigers, with the largest tiger population in the Nilgiri biosphere.
In 2018, in the all India estimates report released by Ministry of Environment Forests & Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Karnataka ranked second in the country with 524 tigers, after Madhya Pradesh with 526.
The data collected while undertaking the all-India tiger census report, along with covering more areas, will be released soon. However, it will not be released on the much-awaited Tiger Day (July 29).
Along with this report, the Forest Department will also release the first-ever internal tiger census report which was done in 2019-20 in the tiger reserves. “The study was done, but the report was not released. So in the next 15-20 days, along with this year’s internal assessment report, the 2019-20 report will also be released. No surveys were conducted in 2020-21 because of the pandemic and in 2021-22 the all India estimation was announced,” sources in the department told TNIE.
According to National Tiger Conservation Authority and MoEF&CC, all tiger states must undertake annual internal tiger census in their tiger reserves. While the exercise is not being taken seriously by other states, in Karnataka, it was first started in Nagarahole and Bandipur Tiger Reserves, but the reports were not made public. Gradually it spread to each reserve doing it independently, but an entire state report was done for the first time in 2019-20.
A senior forest department official said there is a full fledged tiger cell in Karnataka, which is at present collating and assessing the data of all the forest regions where tigers are present, including buffer zones and forest fringes for the assessment.The data shared with the Union Government is being optimally utilised as the report to be released by the ministry has been delayed.
A senior MoEF&CC official said, “The all-India report release has now been postponed to this winter season (January 2023) because of the prolonged monsoon showers which wrecked havoc in most parts of the country, delaying the camera trap exercise. The area for coverage has also increased this year, which is also delaying the exercise.”