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Tiger count likely to go up by 40 in Atmakuru division
The tiger population in Andhra Pradesh is likely to increase by at least 100, 40 in Atmakuru forest division alone, and the number of cubs is likely to double, if the ongoing tiger enumeration in Nallamala forest division is any indication.
Atmakuru (Kurnool): The tiger population in Andhra Pradesh is likely to increase by at least 100, 40 in Atmakuru forest division alone, and the number of cubs is likely to double, if the ongoing tiger enumeration in Nallamala forest division is any indication.
Highlights:
- Enumeration of tigers is going on in Nallamala forest division
- Enumerators visiting hills, waterfalls, streams and plain areas to spot pug marks, and gather other data
A decade ago, the number of tigers in the country was put at 3,400, but it came down to 2,266 because of poaching. In fact, 50 per cent of the tigers are located in the Atmakuru division of the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve.
As the forest laws have been given more teeth, the number of tigers is likely to increase. The tiger population rose by 95 in 2006, increased by 72 in 2010 and went down by 68 in 2014. The All-India Tiger Estimation is taken up by the National Tiger Conservation Authority once in four years.
On the directions of the Union government, the authority commenced tiger estimation, which entered the sixth day on Saturday. A forest officer in Simlipal Tiger Sanctuary in Odisha was instrumental in inventing estimating the tiger population on the basis of their pug marks. He noticed that the stripes on the body of tigers and pug marks differ from tiger to tiger.
In the current exercise, at least 600 personnel were involved in tiger estimation under way in forest divisions, forest beats, ranges and sections. The exercise begins at 5 am and concludes by 5 pm. It may be recalled that Atmakuru Divisional Forest Officer Selvam and Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve Field Director Saravanan commenced the estimation in Nallamala forest spread across Kurnool, Prakasam and Guntur districts.
Marked increase in the tiger population will commence from Pechchurvu area of the Atmakuru division. Using the GPS facility, animal trap cameras, ecological cameras, the tiger population is documented. Mould of the tiger pug marks is made using the plaster of paris solution. The pug marks are photographed using infrared high-beam cameras to document it.
The enumerators visit water holes, hills, waterfalls, streams and plain areas to spot pug marks, excreta and gather other data and it will be sent to the bio-diversity center at Srisailam. Later, the samples will be sent to CCMB in Hyderabad for DNA analysis.
After conducting 12 types of research on the data, monitoring the tigers with the help of computers, final population of the tigers will be arrived at. Tiger enumeration work is limited to 2,444 square km area out of the 3,727 square km area.
