Tiger counting to commence on Dec 20, at Dudhwa Tiger Reserve

The estimation of tiger population, popularly known as tiger counting, in the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR) is slated to commence from December 20, forest officials said.

The exercise was earlier slated to start from October 20 but had to be postponed due to floods in the region caused by untimely rains and heavy discharge of water into the Sharda river from the Banbasa barrage.

''Estimation work to ascertain tiger population as well as that of wild elephants and other carnivorous and ungulates (hoofed animals) is likely to start from December 20,'' Sanjay Pathak, field director, DTR, told PTI.

''The counting work, as per the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) guidelines, would be conducted simultaneously in Dudhwa, Kishanpur, Dudhwa buffer zone, Mohammadi and Gola ranges of south Kheri forest division, Katarniaghat (Bahraich) and the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR),'' he added.

Pathak said a training session for data operators is scheduled to be held on November 30 as the counting work would be done on a digital platform – NTCA-developed MSTRiPES app – with no manual feeding of forms like earlier.

''To ensure the accuracy and purity of data feeding, training of master trainers – 36 forest officials from 18 forest divisions – would be held on December 6 and 7 in Dudhwa/Katarniaghat,'' he said.

''These master-trainers would pass on the training to the field staff actively engaged in the estimation work,'' Pathak added.

''For the eight-day-long phase of counting work through camera traps and field survey, around 2,600 cameras would be installed at suitable locations. These include 1,340 cameras for counting blocks of Dudhwa and Katarniaghat and the rest for the other block,'' he said.

The official informed that the estimation work on the field would continue for eight days during which counting of carnivorous, ungulates, elephants, and survey of pellets would be carried out.

''The data collected on the field would be later analysed through a remote statistical study by Wildlife Institute of India (WII) experts to reach the estimated population of tigers in Dudhwa and other parts,'' he added.

According to the last counting in 2021, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve has an estimated population of 107 tigers.

Located along the India-Nepal border in Kheri and Bahraich districts, the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (comprising the Dudhwa National Park, Kishanpur wildlife sanctuary in Kheri and the Katarniaghat wildlife sanctuary in Bahraich) enjoys a healthy population of royal bengal tigers, one-horned rhinos, wild elephants, over four hundred species of birds and various species of reptiles and amphibians.

Its undisturbed natural habitat, vast spans of grasslands and wetlands provide an ideal habitat for the wild animals, much to the attraction of visitors and researchers.

(With inputs from agencies.)