BHUBANESWAR:
The Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) authorities on Friday started
round-the -clock monitoring of big cats in the sanctuary through trap
cameras installed at 63 locations.
The trap cameras have been installed to facilitate monitoring over 318 sq km, identified as tiger habitat, within STR core area. This will continue till September 10, official sources said.
"We have also repaired 20 trap cameras, which were damaged last year during cyclone Phailin. We have put up 126 cameras," said STR filed director Anup Nayak. The monitoring process will include sighting of tigers through trap cameras, recognizing signs like pug marks and estimating prey population, he added.
In September last year (a month before phailin hit Odisha coast), the authorities had reported damage to 50 trap cameras. They discovered it during the four-phase tiger census.
The STR in the second phase had procured 90 cameras after which it got 176 more. "The elephants and poachers destroyed about 50 trap cameras, resulting in loss of about Rs 7.5 lakh," said Nayak. "The inputs regarding tigers' movement will be sent to Wildlife Institute of India and National Tiger Conservation Authority. To get the present number of tigers, we need effective camera traps," he said.
For the monitoring, the STR has 11 trained forest personnel skilled in hi-tech tiger tracking system.
"The forest staff were trained at Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh in hi-tech tiger tracking and protection system. This would also help boost the Special Tiger Protection Force," said a wildlife officer.
The trap cameras have been installed to facilitate monitoring over 318 sq km, identified as tiger habitat, within STR core area. This will continue till September 10, official sources said.
"We have also repaired 20 trap cameras, which were damaged last year during cyclone Phailin. We have put up 126 cameras," said STR filed director Anup Nayak. The monitoring process will include sighting of tigers through trap cameras, recognizing signs like pug marks and estimating prey population, he added.
In September last year (a month before phailin hit Odisha coast), the authorities had reported damage to 50 trap cameras. They discovered it during the four-phase tiger census.
The STR in the second phase had procured 90 cameras after which it got 176 more. "The elephants and poachers destroyed about 50 trap cameras, resulting in loss of about Rs 7.5 lakh," said Nayak. "The inputs regarding tigers' movement will be sent to Wildlife Institute of India and National Tiger Conservation Authority. To get the present number of tigers, we need effective camera traps," he said.
For the monitoring, the STR has 11 trained forest personnel skilled in hi-tech tiger tracking system.
"The forest staff were trained at Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh in hi-tech tiger tracking and protection system. This would also help boost the Special Tiger Protection Force," said a wildlife officer.
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