WCS-India staff setting up camera-trap
Telangana Forest Department has begun its annual wildlife census in Amrabad Tiger Reserve from December 6. An area of 1,100 sq km will be covered under the census over a period of six months.
For the statistics, the tiger reserve has been divided into two blocks of 550 sq km each, and the blocks are further subdivided into multiple grids of 2 sq km each. This year too, the survey will focus on both – herbivores and carnivores – populations and will come up with corrective data.
“The survey will be done using line transect approach and camera traps. Under line transect method, survey teams will walk through each grid to spot signs of wildlife. As many as 200 cameras are being installed and the data will be collected for analysis,” said Bapu Reddy, Senior Research Associate, WCS-India.
Amrabad Tiger Reserve © Kiran Yadav
WCS-India is assisting the Telangana Forest Department in conducting the survey. The reserve has carnivores’ populations of tigers, leopards and wild dogs, whereas, herbivores’ populations include that of spotted deers, chinkaras, wild boars, langurs, macaques etc.
“The census result will give us a better idea on prey density of the reserve. Moreover, as the teams will be walking through each grid, it will also throw some light on the landscape of the area and the habitats. We are looking forward to getting revised data on number of tigers in the reserve,” said Richa, WCS-India staff.