Bhubaneswar: The tiger census report 2014 released by the national tiger conservation authority (NTCA) Tuesday has made people of Orissa upset, as the number of tigers here has come down from 32 in 2010 to 28. Although the report is yet to be received by the state forests and environment (F&E) department, senior officials attributed deforestation as the principal reason for the dwindling number in Orissa.
“At a time when tiger count has increased in India from 1,706 in 2011 to 2,226 in 2014, it is disheartening to know that the state’s big cat population fell compared to 2010 census,” principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) SS Srivastava told this newspaper. He, however, declined to make a further comment on the issue.
The 2010 tiger census had put the number of felines in Orissa at 32, outside the Sunabeda sanctuary which had remained inaccessible during the last census because of Maoist violence.
A senior official said based on the method of counting by pug marks, the state until 2006 had 192 felines including 101 in Simlipal. However, the 2006 National Tiger Census based on other methods found only 45 tigers in Orissa. At that time Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had expressed displeasure over the Centre’s 2006 report which had claimed that the Union ministry of forest and environment could not check Sunabeda reserve.
Noted wildlife activist Lala AK Singh told Orissa POST that though a 30 per cent rise in tiger population seems to be dubious, the dwindling tiger count in Orissa might be due to reduction in habitation and ecological reasons.