Tiger census report to be out next month

The tiger census report will be released by prime minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on March 27 or 28.

This was decided at a meeting held by officials under Project Tiger, recently. While tabulating the tiger census data, the Centre has asked the state governments to strengthen steps to protect wildlife.

Scientists from Wildlife Institute of India, YV Jhala, said the mapping and tabulation of data, based on region and state, is being completed. To ensure accuracy in findings, GIS formatting has been used.

All states have been covered except north eastern states where the terrain is different and difficult. Most areas there cannot be accessed by road and scientists have to walk for miles together. So the tiger census there, except Assam where it was conducted, will be done from March to July and the report will be released later.

According to the initial plan, the census report was to be released by July. But the National Tiger Conservation Authority and ministry of environment and forests wanted the report to be ready by the end of May. The report is finally being released in March.

The three-day census was conducted in January 2009 by forest department officials along with two NGOs, Centre for Wildlife Studies and Nature Conservation Foundation, using field survey and camera trapping.
All eyes are on the census results since the World Bank has appreciated the conservation measures taken by the state where 20% of India’s tiger population live in 5% of its forest areas. The rise in tiger population is adding to the burden of the state in protecting them.

According to the previous survey report, Karnataka houses 290 tigers after Madhya Pradesh with 300 tigers. On an average, India has 1,411 tigers.
Forest cover in Karnataka is put at 40,236 sq km. Tigers occupy 18,715 sq km in three tiger constituted areas. Nagarhole-Madhumalai-Wynad patch of forest spread across 10,800 sq km is estimated to house 190 tigers.

Kudremukh-Bhadra forest patch occupying 7,054 sq km houses 58 tigers. Sharavathi Valley-Dandeli- Khanapur belt spread across 7,309 sq km has an average of 33 tigers.