Bhubaneswar: Based on the method of counting tigers by their pug marks, Orissa until 2006 had claimed there were 192 tigers in the state including 101 in Simlipal.
But the 2006 National Tiger Census based on other methods found only 45 tigers in Orissa.
Now, the 2010 Tiger Census says there are only 32 tigers in Orissa outside the Sunabeda sanctuary which was inaccessible during the last census because of Maoist violence in the area.
Our tiger population is stable. However, the Government of India could not check the population of tigers in Sunabeda sanctuary. We are making big efforts to conserve the tigers in Orissa," said Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister, Orissa.
"I cannot accept the Government of India's figures because in Orissa it's a fact that tigers are there not only in Sunabeda, Satkosia and Simlipal but other parts of the state. So if we come out with this sort of report without making a detailed scientific analysis of all other tiger habitats, we are bound to commit mistakes," said PN Padhi, PCCF, Wildlife, Orissa.
The state government continues to claim there are 61 tigers in Simlipal.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/tiger-census-orissa-rejects-numbers-95597
The 2010 census report estimates there are only 23, but since it also says the actual number could be anything between 12 and 34, wildlife officials say the figures are not dependable.
"When the data is not very dependable or when the evaluator has doubts on the data, he goes for a wide range...this needs a re-verfication and I hope the NTCA orders a second kind of a survey," noted Biswajit Mohanty, Wildlife Expert.
There is little doubt that the pug-mark method of counting is unreliable but at the same time the new camera trap method must rise to the occasion and put all doubts at rest.
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