THIRUVANTHAPURAM: State Forest Minister AK Saseendran informed on Friday that his department has conducted a wildlife census on elephants and tigers in the Wayanad landscape.
The survey included Wayanad, Aralam, North Wayanad, Kannur, and also the border areas sharing the land with Karnataka state.
As per the survey, 84 tigers and 1920 elephants were spotted in the area.
“We planted 297 cameras at selected spots in a span of 45 days; we have got 13,365 trap nights. Now that we have concluded that 84 different tigers have been spotted except in the Kannur forest division and the Aralam forest division, we have established the presence of the big cats. Among the 84 tigers, we have 39 newly accounted tigers, and the rest, 45, were audited in 2016, 2018, and 2022. Twenty-Nine male and 47 female cats have been identified. “
Saseendran further pointed out that the audit of the elephant population in the state has been completed and that currently, out of 610 blocks, 1920 elephants have been found.
“We conducted this survey within one day with the help of Karnataka, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana states. But now we have also been notified that the number has been reduced. We have also found that poaching activities are occurring in some regions, and we will take all measures to stop them and protect the wildlife,” Saseendran said. (ANI)