Preliminary data on tiger census to be out soon

The Economic Times , Saturday, November 20, 2010
Correspondent : PTI
NEW DELHI: India, which is abode to half of the world's total big cat population in the wild, will declare its first preliminary data on the ongoing tiger census ahead of the global meet on the endangered species in Russia next week.

"By the next few days we will declare the first tentative results of the tiger census, Hopefully, by early next year we will be able to make the full report public," Ramesh told reporters on the sidelines of a function.

The year-long tiger census was kicked off early this year in 17 states across the country in a scientific manner with the help of camera trappings instead of pugmarks which have failed to give a conclusive data.

The latest estimated count of tigers in the country's protected forests is around 1,411 - less than half of the 3,642 tigers that were counted during the last census of 2001-2002.

Ramesh has expressed hope that the count will be higher than the existing number.

So far, over 31 tigers have been killed due to various reasons including territorial fight and poaching besides man-animal conflicts across the country with the latest death being reported from Sariska in Rajasthan.

The death of the translocated big cat has cast shadow over the country's conservation efforts given that the predator had died due to "poisoning" by the villagers as noted by the Environment Minister after his recent visit to Sariska.

Though he attributed tiger death to the failure of governance and administration of the Centre and the State, the death has clearly highlighted the need to take the local community into confidence before making conservation efforts in the 39 tiger habitats in the country.

The dead tiger was one of five Bengal tigers that were relocated to Sariska from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in 2008, as part of an effort to revive the wild tiger population in the reserve after its resident tigers were killed by poachers in 2004.

The issue is likely to be debated threadbare at the global summit in St. Petersburg to be held from November 21 to 24 where 13 tiger-range countries will take a vow to double the number of the predators from 3,000 to 6,000 in another ten years.

Wild tiger population around the world has declined by 97 per cent in the past century, primarily due to habitat loss and poaching.

 
SOURCE : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/environment/flora--fauna/-Preliminary-data-on-tiger-census-to-be-out-soon/articleshow/6954955.cms
 


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