Carnivore, herbivore censuses from May 5 in Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: After nearly seven years, the state forest department will take up its official census of leopards and other carnivores such as hyenas, wolves, jungle cats, ratels, caracals and foxes. It will begin on May 5 and last three days. The census of herbivorous animals will begin on May 8.
The counting of wolves and caracals will be done after more than two decades. Foresters said the department will enumerate herbivores such as nilgai, blackbuck, chital, sambar, chinkara and chausingha after the carnivore census is completed.
The last census of leopards, in May 2016, had revealed a count of 1,395. This represented a 20.25% increase from 2011. The 2016 leopard count in Gujarat, 1,395 animals, showed that the state has the second largest population of these big cats, after Madhya Pradesh (1,817). There were 1,160 leopards counted in Gujarat in 2011.
Enumeration of blackbucks was taken up in 2022 in the Velavadar sanctuary only, where their population was estimated to be 5,069. This time it will cover other parts of Bhavnagar and Botad districts as well.
The carnivore count will use the direct sighting method. For herbivores, direct sighting will be employed in sanctuary and protected areas, while the block count method will be used in rural areas.
Information on sightings will also be sought from local villagers.
Officials in the department said that to ensure the carnivore count is done properly with no habitat left out, their own staff will take up an estimation exercise for three days from May 1. The final count will lay emphasis on areas where the internal survey reported high numbers.
The forest department has also formed a committee headed by the principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) for these counts. All data will be forwarded to the central committee headed by the PCCF by May 14. It will then finalize its report by June 6.