According to STR director Prakash Gogineni, there are 35 tigers in the reserve according to the video trap used for the headcount.
BHUBANESWAR: A senior state government official reported on Monday that 35 Royal Bengal tigers had been observed using trap cameras installed in Odisha’s Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) as part of the state’s tiger counting. The “All India Tiger Estimation” study indicated that the state’s tiger population had decreased from 28 in 2018 to 20 in 2022, prompting Odisha to request the counting. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) commissioned a survey that assessed the number of tigers in the Similipal tiger reserve to be sixteen.
After the census concludes in January, all tigers’ information will be available, according to STR director Prakash Gogineni. There are approximately 35 Royal Bengal Tigers in the reserve, according to the camera trap. As the counting is done, a clear image will become apparent,” he stated.
Using the argument that just a small number of camera traps were set up, the Odisha government began its tiger census in October to support its claims that the tiger census in STR did not fairly represent the tiger population. Moreover, officials from Odisha stated that the NTCA-led initiative failed to consider appropriate habitats located in southern Odisha.
State wildlife officials contended that low sampling intensity in the NTCA technique meant that it did not adequately reflect the presence, habitat occupancy, and total number of tigers in Odisha.
According to the NTCA report, the Similipal tiger reserve was ranked among the top 12 tiger reserves in the nation with a management effectiveness evaluation (MEE) score of 90.15 percent. With such a high MEE score, we couldn’t figure out why there were so few tigers,” questioned a senior state official.
