TIRUNELVELI
A eight-day-long pre-monsoon tiger census at Kalakkad – Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve will commence with the help of over 250 forest personnel and around a hundred trained volunteers on Tuesday (September 11).
The tiger sanctuary, comprising Kalakkad and Ambasamudram divisions, will be scanned by a total of 50 teams, each having 5 to 7 members, over the next 8 days to find the near exact number of big cats inside the sanctuary.
In the Kalakkad division, 60 forest personnel, along with 40 trained volunteers, who have been divided into 21 teams, would enter the forest on Tuesday morning.
“The volunteers, who have been trained in the methods to be adopted during the census, will accompany the forest personnel who are carrying a mobile app for the census. Besides direct and indirect sighting methods, the mobile app will come in handy for the census,” said a forest official.
The volunteers underwent a training held at Thalaiyanai in Kalakkad on Monday.
In the Ambasamudram division, 29 teams are being deployed for the tiger census after a day-long appropriate training in census techniques. “While the smaller team will have 5 members, the bigger ones to be deployed in the higher elevation areas of Ambasamudram, Mundanthurai and Kadayam will have 6 to 7 members,” said the official.
After compiling the data collected during the tiger census conducted in February last, the KMTR administration has forwarded the findings to the National Tiger Conservation Authority for scientific analysis and finalising the results.
“We’re yet to receive the results of the census conducted in February and hence we can’t say anything on the number of tigers in KMTR. Again, findings of this census will also be sent to the NTCA,” said the official.
In view of the tiger census to commence on Tuesday, the KMTR will be closed for the visitors and entry of tourists into the sanctuary has been prohibited.