In India, an increase in the large cat population is always greatly appreciated.Every wildlife enthusiast wants to witness the apex predator howling and prowling in their natural environment.In 1972, the first tiger census was carried out.
Every four years, the National Tiger Conservation Authorities (NTCA) counted the magnificent tigers.India started the 2018 Tiger Census, the world’s largest survey of living things, with counting tigers nationwide.
In order to ensure more accuracy in tiger counts and to prevent small counting errors during the 2018 tiger census, the NTCA is equipped with cutting-edge equipment. In order to properly feed location data and fill out records more accurately, NTCA will utilize an Android software called MSTrIPES in 2018.
There will be more to the census than just counting tigers.
The 2014 census included the first-ever counting of the Indian leopard population, which numbered 11,000 individuals.
If the same procedure is followed, the estimated population of different predators, ungulates, and other species in India’s forests will be provided.
India’s 2018 Tiger Census: Suggested Tours
The 2018 census is expected to cost Rs. 10 crore and involve about 40,000 forest guards covering 4,00,000 square kilometers of Indian forests; wildlife biologists will assess them individually; fieldwork will take about a year; 14,000 camera traps will be used; and communication with the 18 states in India where tigers are found will be necessary.
Together with tigers, the study also collects comprehensive data on the initial population of deer and other species.
All of the forest guards have received extensive training in using Android phones and the MSTrIPES software, which was created specifically for storing counting data on Android devices.
The forest team’s path through the forest will be recorded by the app, which will also help them upload geotagged photos to the database.
It is likely to yield more accurate and timely calculating results.
- More than 15,000 camera traps were deployed to take pictures of tigers for the tiger count this year, which is 5,500 more than were utilized in 2014.
- The program that captures each tiger’s distinct stripe pattern makes it simple to identify individual tigers from the camera photographs.
- The 2018 Tiger Census’s main objective is to include northeast India, which was left out of the last survey for a number of reasons.
- This addition will undoubtedly contribute to the increase in tigers over the 2014 census.
- Through photos from camera traps placed throughout Indian forests, 2,226 tigers—or 76% of the total—were counted in the most recent census conducted in 2014.
- It is anticipated that the census results will be released in January 2019.
Meetup in Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal:
Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal will lend a hand to India during the 2018 tiger census on the subcontinent.
This is the first time that all three of these continental nations have joined together to count the number of big cats in India, particularly in the areas that share borders. Bangladesh and Nepal were included in the counting process in the last census.
MSTrIPES App:
On April 14, 2010, the Indian government released the M-STrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers – Intensive Protection and Ecological Status) Android app, which is a software-based monitoring system at several tiger reserves throughout the nation.
Strengthening patrols and surveillance of endangered tigers is the slogan.
There are two main components to the system:
tailored software for the storage, retrieval, analysis, and reporting of field-based protocols for law enforcement, wildlife offenses recording, patrolling, and ecological monitoring.
Currently, wildlife is being monitored by law enforcement and the environment, but the data produced by the system is ad hoc and rarely available in a format that is appropriate for making well-informed decisions.
In addition to fixing the issue, “MSTrIPES” is a more effective tool for adaptive management.
The system takes a comprehensive approach to better conservation and management by incorporating all biological insights discovered throughout the standardized tigers, prey, and habitat assessment methods (Phase I).
Managers can evaluate patrols’ endemic coverage and speed using the app in a GIS-based interface.
India’s 2014 Tiger Census:
The responsibility for organising the tiger estimating exercise has been with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), an organisation supported by the Union Environment Ministry, since 2006.
When the last tiger census was conducted in 2014, there were 2226 tigers in all of India, an increase of 520 over the 1706 tigers that were counted in 2010.
It is anticipated that the number of tigers in India would keep rising dramatically.
Key Details of the 2014 Tiger Census:
According to India’s 2014 tiger census, the number of tigers in the nation has increased by 30% from the 2010 census.
According to the 2014 tiger census statistics, Karnataka is home to the greatest number of tigers in India for those who are 1.5 years of age or older.
There are 408 tigers in the same age group overall.
There were 340 tigers in Uttarakhand, 308 in Madhya Pradesh, 229 in Tamil Nadu, 190 in Madhya Pradesh, 229 in Tamil Nadu, 190 in Maharashtra, 167 in Assam, 136 in Kerala, and 117 in Uttar Pradesh, in decreasing order of tiger population.
An estimated 70% of tigers worldwide are thought to be found in India, according to data and findings from the 2014 census.
The entire 3,78,118 sq km of forest in 18 tiger states was inspected for the Tiger Census 2014, and a total of 1,540 unique tiger photo grabs where tigers are seen were studied.
Nonetheless, the Indian tigers struggle to survive in their native environment due to a number of factors, including poaching, serious health problems, and a reduced gene pool.
Let’s hope that the population of big cats nationwide rises!
