Maharashtra forest officials begin tiger census count

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The national tiger census, which is conducted every four years, commenced on Saturday. The state forest department officials will carry out the survey using the line transect method in which officials will have to walk on a predetermined route at a fixed pace to record information.

Roheet Karoo, honorary wildlife warden of Nagpur, said, "The census exercise has started in the core and buffer zones of wildlife sanctuaries and tiger reserves." In the line transect method, the team will have to walk for 15 km and record direct and indirect sightings of herbivores, carnivores. The officials will also have to collect scat samples. The data gathered at the end of the exercise will be shared with the Wildlife Institute of India.

Vinit Arora, secretary of Nagpur based NGO Shrushti Paryavaran Mandal, said that the survey will continue for five days inside the protected areas across the country. In the next three weeks, camera traps will also be installed inside the forest. Authorities and experts will then review the information and share the collected data with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). The final tiger count in India is slated to be released by 2019.

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