With dwindling number and pushed on the verge of losing a roaring history, the Palamau Tiger Reserve of Jharkhand is looking at world-famous Kanha Tiger Reserve of Madha Pradesh.
A team of six senior officials from the State, that also comprises Chief Wildlife Warden AK Mishra, would visit the park to learn nuances about the royal animal conservation there and apply some of those tricks back home so that its number can go up from the minuscule six reported last. The exercise is in the line of national level tiger census, rephrased now as tiger estimation that is slated to commence in October for a year. Results of the estimation are likely to be out by December 2014.
“Kanha is one of the best managed parks in the country. All the tigers there have been radio collared. The team from here would visit and hold crucial meetings with the authorities there between September 11-13. We would be focusing the census matter entirely,” said AK Mishra, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest. The officials after leaning modern means about tiger management would later pass on the experience to others in their respective areas.
The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) has just organised a meeting concerning all the tiger States to conduct the estimation to be done in four stages. This time three different agencies — Wildlife Institute of India, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Tiger State — would collect evidences in close coordination so that more authentic data can be presented.
As per the last tiger census took place in 2009 the Palamau Tiger Reserve have had just six big cats roaming around. The numbers are in stark contrast to the census of 1974 with 50 tigers. The NTCA would bear the entire cost coming on the estimation and has also alienated Rs 5 lakh under the Rs four crore budget for 2012-13 meant for the reserve.
“This time we would be recording latitude and longitude of the location where the animal is seen. As tiger has limited territory, estimating its maximum movement we can minimize the chances of repetition. Besides, other evidences such as sighting, pug mark and scat sample would also be collected from the park area,” said a senior official of the Forest Department.
Though, the Department is downplaying uses of camera traps considering its sensitivity for Naxals, present in good number in the area. At present the park has just 40 cameras installed and all of them are more than two-years-old. “It would certainly be vital equipment for us during the estimation. But apart from this we also need lots of field workers to collect the evidences which is not available,” said a senior official.
Out of 173 sanctioned posts of forest guards the tiger reserve is managing with just 147. This will leave the State to depend largely on tiger trackers; employed 100 in numbers on daily wages. The Department is eyeing to equip some of them with latest gadgets such as GPS. The meeting also considered tracking tigers roaming outside the reserve area. Evidences have been that numbers of big cats may also be present in Hazaribagh, Saranda and other adjoining areas that would be inducted by collecting evidences of the presence.