Summary:
Subsequently, camera traps were laid that confirmed the presence of tigers. “Even if we don’t spot a tiger, if the prey base is there, the chances of a tiger’s presence will be more in that area,” he said, adding that a tiger’s territory is around 30sqkm or more.When the exercise was carried out in 2012, the forest department found indirect evidence of five tigers. After the field exercise is complete, the department will place around 70 camera traps at key locations to confirm the movement of tigers, Saxena said.“During the summer months when water is a limiting factor, chances of sighting animals near water holes are higher,” he said, adding that camera traps will also be placed in the vicinity of water bodies.The dry months, in which vegetation is not as thick, allows better visibility and is ideal for conducting the survey.The exercise is as much about the tiger’s prey as it is about tigers where the availability of prey will give forest officers an idea of the presence of tigers. Panaji: Armed with more camera traps and an android-based application, the Goa forest department will join the nationwide tiger census exercise in the coming days.Teams of forest department officers along with volunteers are expected to begin the quadrennial exercise, which is expected to last for a week, on April 30.An action plan is being drawn up for the All India Tiger Estimation where teams will cover around 700sqkm of protected areas to look for pug marks, excreta and remnants of prey among other evidence to ascertain the presence of tigers and their prey.During the 2010 and 2014 tiger census, more than 100 teams were deployed to carry out the field exercise.For the first time the department will use an android-based application M Stripe (Monitoring System for Tigers Intensive Protection and Ecological Status), which is also being used around the country, to digitally enter data during the exercise.Details, including the GPS location of evidence of tigers and their prey, can be entered directly into the app, chief conservator of forests Ajai Saxena told TOI.The application will be used by some of the teams during the field exercise.The department has also procured more camera traps recently..