Pug Trail
State govt census finds there are now 40 big cats in Orissa up from 28 as claimed by NTCA
State govt uses survey findings to categorically reject earlier report by NTCA that claimed there were only 28 tigers in state
There are three dark-striped melanistic tigers in Similipal Tiger Reserve – considered the only habitat in the world to have such tigers
Estimation report also finds 318 leopards in state
Similipal hosts 29 Royal Bengal Tigers while Karanjia division has three. Sunabeda division has four, Satkosia two, Keonjhar division three and one each in Khariar and Sundargarh divisions
Exercise was conducted using 448 trap cameras and 20,174 pips in february. in april, 420 camera traps and 11,370 pips were used
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar: In a major boost to tiger conservation efforts, a census report on the big cats released by the state government Wednesday stated that there are now 40 big cats in the state.
The tiger census by the government comes nearly a year after the National Tiger Conservation Authority came out with a report on the number of big cats in the state, which the government had rejected as inaccurate.
Forest and environment secretary Suresh Mohapatra and principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) wildlife Sidhanta Das addressed a joint press conference in this regard. “We have conducted a statewide tiger and leopard estimation exercise in all eight circles and 46 divisions between February 5 to February 10 this year. To reaffirm the findings, the government once again conducted the survey in Similipal Tiger Reserve in April,” Mohapatra said.
In February, the exercise was conducted using 448 trap cameras (including 315 in Similipal) and 20,174 pug impression pads (PIPs) while during the second exercise in April, they used 420 camera traps and 11,370 PIPs.
The state had constituted a five-member technical committee headed by additional PCCF Anup Kumar Nayak. The panel scrutinised data generated in the first phase of enumeration. Later, another panel led by additional PCCF Sisir Kumar Acharya evaluated the second phase data from Similipal, they said.
The panels examined the PIPs, pugmark tracings apart from 46 images generated by cameras to eliminate duplicity.
“There are 40 Royal Bengal Tigers in different forest divisions, of which 13 are male, 24 are female and three cubs, Mohapatra said. Three melanistic tigers (black tigers) were also found in Similipal Tiger Reserve, the only habitat in the world to have a source population of such dark-striped big cats, he claimed.
For conservation of tigers, the government is taking proactive steps such as relocating villagers from the core areas of forests to nearby areas by giving proper rehabilitation package, Mohapatra said.
Stating that 15,000 people in 57 villages are staying in STR, the secretary said the state government is providing pucca houses and Rs 10 lakh to every person above 18 years.
While there are 26 tigers in Similipal Wildlife Division, four tigers were located in Sunabeda wildlife division and three tigers each in Karanjia and Keonjhar divisions, he said. Besides, there are two tigers in Satkosia and one each in Khariar and Sundergarh divisions.
The government also found 318 leopards in the state, of which 144 are male, 154 female and 20 cubs, they said.
Last year, the NTCA said there were only 28 tigers in the state as against 32 in 2010 and 45 in 2006. However, the state government trashed the report and conducted its own survey to verify its claims.
