29 July 2020



New Delhi: Although the latest tiger census report of National Tiger Conservation Authority has asserted a steady rise in India's tiger population, the number of big cats has gone down considerably in the past few years in Odisha, a cause of concern for the environment, forest, and also for tiger lovers.

The full report of the All-India Tiger census results of 2018 was released by Environment and Forests Minister Prakash Javedakar on Tuesday.

India is ready to take leadership, work with 13 tiger range countries for management of tiger reserves, Javadaker said after the release of the report.

While the all-India results of 2,967 tigers (2018) compared to 2,226 tigers in 2014 have brought cheer to some, the two tiger reserves of Odisha, Satkosia and Simlipal, have revealed shocking decline in their population. Most other states have done well adding huge numbers in the four year period after 2014.

This is a periodic count undertaken throughout the country by NTCA in collaboration with state Forest Departments and NGOs. The camera capture-recapture method is used for the count, which is the latest available scientific method accepted worldwide.

According to the report, a total of 141 camera traps were laid in Simlipal, and 4,400 trap nights were spent in capturing tiger pictures.

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