Pre-monsoon tiger census kicks off

Udhagamandalam: A six-day pre-monsoon tiger census was kicked off in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in the Nilgiris on Thursday.
Volunteers are not involved in the drive, forest range officer Dhayanandhan said. “Only forest field staff and officials are deputed for the purpose in the five ranges Kargudi, Nelakkottai, Theppakadu, Mudumalai and Masinagudi. They will account the prey base and vegetation in MTR core area extending to 321sqkm. As many as 37 transect lines are developed in MTR core area to enable the 37 teams to carry out census. Range officers will monitor the drive,” he said.
The census is a bi-annual drive and is mandatory in all tiger reserves during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon. tnn