The big cat census began on Monday in various forests across Odisha. The state seeks to cover more forests this time than in prior years. This year’s census will take place in 20 forests across the state, according to sources.
During the most recent census in 2018, 15 forests were recorded.
A meeting between officials from the State Forest Department and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was held to arrange the survey.
NTCA officials will train Master Trainers and a State-level nodal officer would be appointed for the census. There will be four stages to the census.
The State Forest Department will manage the first and third stages. While the NTCA will handle the second and fourth phases, according to sources. The first part of counting will be done with the help of a special app. The third phase will be done with the help of a camera trap.
A final census report will be released after all data has been processed.
Odisha had 192 tigers according to the 2004 census, which was conducted using the pug mark method. However, once a camera trap technique was used to count the animals, the numbers dropped drastically to 45 in 2006.
While the state’s large cat population reached 32 in 2010, since then it has dropped to 28 in the 2014 and 2018 census. Odisha is hoping for an upward trend in counting this year.
