Around 55 tigers were identified through the camera traps placed at 356 locations inside Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR), in the first ever camera-trap exercise carried out as per the protocol of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). The STR, spread across 1,411.60 sq km, is home to elephants, leopards, tigers, spotted deer, black bucks, sambar deer, barking deer, wild boars, striped hyenas, and various bird species. After it was declared as tiger reserve in 2013, the Government of India notified the Core Zone and the Buffer Zone and the NTCA implemented the ‘Project Tiger’ and installed camera traps in the forest area.
The Forest Department and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - India carried out the camera-trap exercise for 60 days from August to October. The tiger movement captured by the cameras was processed and based on stripes pattern, each tiger was given a unique id. The exercise revealed that there were 55 tigers including 21 male, 32 female and two unclassified tigers. As many as 11 cubs were also spotted in the forests.
I. Anwardeen, Chief Conservator of Forests and Field Director of the STR, told The Hindu that though the exercise was carried out for the past three years at the STR, it is the first time that camera-trapping was done by following the Phase IV protocol of NTCA.