<p>With over 60 of the 435 unique tigers found to be outside the tiger reserves, the state forest department’s exercise to count the tigers has shown that the government needs to do much more to protect the natural forests that may not have protection.</p>.<p>Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre on Thursday released a report on the department’s assessment of data collected during the All India Tiger Estimation (AITE).</p>.<p>“During the previous survey in 2018, as many as 408 unique tigers were camera trapped. That number has gone up to 435, showing a healthy increase in the population of tigers,” Khandre told reporters.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/state/karnataka-districts/greens-concerned-over-change-in-land-use-in-kodagu-1240722.html">Greens concerned over change in land use in Kodagu</a></strong></p>.<p>The unique numbers are used as a baseline to estimate the total numbers. In 2018, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had estimated the total numbers at 524.</p>.<p>Officials in the department said the final estimate would be given by the NTCA report, expected to be released on March 29.</p>.<p>The AITE, known as tiger census, is conducted every four years to cover tiger, co-predator, prey base and elephant estimation.</p>.<p>Besides the primary focus on the five reserves, the exercise in Karnataka covered wildlife sanctuaries, national parks and territorial divisions.</p>.<p>The tiger cell in Karnataka has tried to go deeper to understand the distribution across divisions.</p>.<p>“Camera trap survey was conducted in 37 divisions, including all five tiger reserves, out of which 22 divisions showed tiger presence,” a note issued by the department said.</p>.<p>The NTCA, on April 9, released an interim report of AITE 2022, putting the number of tigers across the country at 3,167.</p>.<p>While not disclosing the state-wise count, the report had said that the numbers have declined in the Western Ghats landscape, including in Karnataka, Kerala Tamil Nadu and Goa states.</p>.<p>The report released two days ahead of Global Tiger Day said the additional record of unique tigers in 2022 “was probably” due to increased effective spatial sampling, including the added adjacent suitable tiger habitat to the tiger reserves.</p>.<p>The department had increased the camera trap points from 1,776 in 2018 to 2,347 in 2022.</p>.<p>A majority of the additional numbers came from tiger reserves, which indicated “effective protection and conservation strategies’’.</p>.<p>The report, however, noted the need to restore habitat and protect wildlife in areas outside the reserves.</p>.<p>“Though tiger reserves serve as the core and inviolate habitat for the tigers, the other adjoining tiger-bearing areas can act as quintessential corridors and provide adequate habitat for the young tigers to disperse and establish their territories, thus assisting in the overall gene flow diversity required for long-term conservation,” the report noted.</p>.<p><strong>Challenges during survey</strong></p>.<p>The report said the Bolyguard cameras used during the survey in July and August 2022 were damaged due to high humidity and rainfall.</p>.<p>“The cameras were found to be below optimum in performance and loss of metadata such as date and time was reported,” the report said.</p>.<p>Subsequently, the monitoring was done February-March 2023 with CuddyBack cameras to rectify the errors/discrepancies.</p>
<p>With over 60 of the 435 unique tigers found to be outside the tiger reserves, the state forest department’s exercise to count the tigers has shown that the government needs to do much more to protect the natural forests that may not have protection.</p>.<p>Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre on Thursday released a report on the department’s assessment of data collected during the All India Tiger Estimation (AITE).</p>.<p>“During the previous survey in 2018, as many as 408 unique tigers were camera trapped. That number has gone up to 435, showing a healthy increase in the population of tigers,” Khandre told reporters.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/state/karnataka-districts/greens-concerned-over-change-in-land-use-in-kodagu-1240722.html">Greens concerned over change in land use in Kodagu</a></strong></p>.<p>The unique numbers are used as a baseline to estimate the total numbers. In 2018, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had estimated the total numbers at 524.</p>.<p>Officials in the department said the final estimate would be given by the NTCA report, expected to be released on March 29.</p>.<p>The AITE, known as tiger census, is conducted every four years to cover tiger, co-predator, prey base and elephant estimation.</p>.<p>Besides the primary focus on the five reserves, the exercise in Karnataka covered wildlife sanctuaries, national parks and territorial divisions.</p>.<p>The tiger cell in Karnataka has tried to go deeper to understand the distribution across divisions.</p>.<p>“Camera trap survey was conducted in 37 divisions, including all five tiger reserves, out of which 22 divisions showed tiger presence,” a note issued by the department said.</p>.<p>The NTCA, on April 9, released an interim report of AITE 2022, putting the number of tigers across the country at 3,167.</p>.<p>While not disclosing the state-wise count, the report had said that the numbers have declined in the Western Ghats landscape, including in Karnataka, Kerala Tamil Nadu and Goa states.</p>.<p>The report released two days ahead of Global Tiger Day said the additional record of unique tigers in 2022 “was probably” due to increased effective spatial sampling, including the added adjacent suitable tiger habitat to the tiger reserves.</p>.<p>The department had increased the camera trap points from 1,776 in 2018 to 2,347 in 2022.</p>.<p>A majority of the additional numbers came from tiger reserves, which indicated “effective protection and conservation strategies’’.</p>.<p>The report, however, noted the need to restore habitat and protect wildlife in areas outside the reserves.</p>.<p>“Though tiger reserves serve as the core and inviolate habitat for the tigers, the other adjoining tiger-bearing areas can act as quintessential corridors and provide adequate habitat for the young tigers to disperse and establish their territories, thus assisting in the overall gene flow diversity required for long-term conservation,” the report noted.</p>.<p><strong>Challenges during survey</strong></p>.<p>The report said the Bolyguard cameras used during the survey in July and August 2022 were damaged due to high humidity and rainfall.</p>.<p>“The cameras were found to be below optimum in performance and loss of metadata such as date and time was reported,” the report said.</p>.<p>Subsequently, the monitoring was done February-March 2023 with CuddyBack cameras to rectify the errors/discrepancies.</p>
