Karnataka Tiger Census-2026 begins in all forest areas: Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre

BIDAR: Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar B Khandre stated that the Tiger Census-2026 began from Monday in all forest areas of the state, including Kali, Bhadra, Nagarhole, Bandipur and BRT Tiger Reserve.

This process will be carried out in all the 38 forest division patrols in each zone of the state’s forest areas, for which training was given to the frontline personnel of all the 13 forest circles of the state and 5 tiger reserves separately in October-December last year.

Starting Monday, for 3 days, teams of three people will travel 5 km in the forest every day in all the patrols of the state and collect details of footprints, droppings, direct sightings of all carnivorous animals, including tigers and leopards and elephants.

From January 15 to 17, the second phase of census estimation will be carried out in 14 forest divisions. Each team will travel in the forest and collect information on direct sightings of herbivorous animals, including deer, wild boar, bison, wild boar, etc., which will facilitate the decision on where to install camera traps, he said.

Khandre said that the census is being conducted across the country every four years, and this is the sixth such experiment. Earlier, the census was conducted in 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022. It was estimated that there were about 563 tigers in the state, and the state ranked 2nd in the country in tiger population.

Tiger Project Director Ramesh Kumar has been nominated as the nodal officer for NTCA, who will be in charge of this assessment.

“Kumar has been asked to list the number of tigers and other carnivores in different areas; the quantity of herbivores in that section, and to identify the carrying capacity of the forest by understanding the number of tigers and herbivores in different forests”, said Khandre.

Using the data of carnivores collected in the 2nd phase survey, camera traps will be installed at appropriate places in the third phase, Khandre said, adding that the nearby tiger reserves where the camera trap survey has been completed will provide the cameras.

There are 2,230 camera traps in five tiger reserves, and the camera trap survey has already been started in all 5 tiger reserves. Out of these, Nagarhole Tiger Reserve has 600 camera traps, Bandipur Tiger Reserve 550; BRT 300 and 330 camera traps in Bhadra, (450) in Kali Tiger Reserve.

“If Bandipur Tiger Reserve provides cameras to Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, BRT will provide cameras to MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary. Similarly, cameras will be provided to Madikeri Wildlife Division and Mysuru Regional Division from Nagarhole Tiger Reserve”, Khandre said.

Khandre added that the survey will be utilised to notify of the increase in the number of tigers in the state. “If we see that tigers are coming to the country from the forest in large numbers, it is evident that there has been an increase in the number of tigers in the state this time. This will be known exactly from the census”, he said. (ANI)