The final report on the number of tigers in Odisha is likely to be released by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) by the end of April, Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) sources said.
Recently the State Government had claimed that there are around 60 tigers in the State by rubbishing the NTCA figure of 28. Even the State had sent the revised data and photographs to the NTCA for review of the decision.
The All India Tiger Estimation Report, 2014 released in January this year had reported a fall in Odisha’s big cat population to 28 from 32 in 2010 and 45 in 2006. The State had pointed out that the results were announced at a time when the counting exercise was still on in the State. NTCA sources said the revised figures and documents including photographs about 60 tigers sent by the State Government would be examined.
A report released by the Union Government on January 21 this year said India’s tiger count has gone up by more than 30 per cent in the past four years. The study put the number at 2,226, up from 1,706 in 2010 when the last such tiger-counting exercise was undertaken.