The annual tiger census in the core area of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) is being undertaken from Tuesday.
This phase of the tiger census, being undertaken on the directions of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), will be conducted in the Masinagudi, Theppakadu, Kargudi, Mudumalai and Nilakottai forest ranges, a press release from the Forest Department stated.
The census will be conducted till January 6, 2024, and will use automated camera traps to record the number of tigers in the core area of the tiger reserve. A total of 191 cameras are to be used for the exercise, with the population of the tigers utilising the MTR core area as well as the number of cubs and other data set to be recorded. Field staff from the tiger reserve will be used to fix the cameras in strategic locations that will ensure that officials have the best chance of recording the highest number of tigers in the respective forest ranges.
The captured photographic images of the tigers will be studied and the stripe patterns recorded to understand the population dynamics of the animals within MTR.
