New technique uses tiger faeces for census in N-E

New Delhi: In a first, wildlife officials are collecting tiger faeces to estimate the population of the big cats in erratic terrains and insurgency-hit areas, with a report likely to be released next month.

The experiment is called "scats" and it is being conducted for the first time in uneven terrains like those in Northeastern states, and Naxal-affected areas, where installing cameras to capture the movement of tigers is tough, said a National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) official.

The official said tiger faeces is being used for genetic sampling and estimating the big cats population for the 2018 Tiger Census.

Explaining the methodology of "scats", an official of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), an autonomous institution of the environment ministry, said the technique involves making polygons - squares in this case - of 25 sq km each in an area of 400 sq km in the Northeastern region, and then physically going there and collecting faeces for genetic sampling.

"Such methodologies are helpful in uneven terrains and insurgency-hit areas where camera installation is impossible," said Ujwal, project scientist, tiger cell, WII.

Speaking on the same lines, NTCA IG Amit Malik said this genetic profiling of tigers will help in identifying footprints of the big cats in areas where camera trapping is tough.

"For the first time we are going to get tiger estimation in Northeast India using polygon research and the scats methodology," Mr Malik said.

He also said the four-yearly survey of tiger count has almost been completed and only analysis of the data is pending.

The NTCA official also said for the first time, India will be coming out with a sub-continent report on tiger count in association with bordering countries - Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

"India shares its boundaries with these three countries and tigers keep moving in and out of these boundaries freely. If we collaborate and exchange data with them, we can get a better picture of the count of big cats," said former IG of the NTCA H.S. Negi.

With the census report expected to be released by March-end, wildlife officials are anticipating a sharp rise in tiger population across the country.

This is the fourth cycle of the tiger census. The first was conducted in 2006, second in 2010 and third in 2014. A team of over 44,000 officials is working on the census this time with 55 biologists across the country," said Y.V. Jhala, senior scientist, WII.

According to the last survey conducted in 2014, the tiger count was 2,226. Over 24,000 camera trap stations have been installed across the country to capture tigers, as per the experts.

"The camera trap stations are set up with motion censors which click (a picture of) a tiger whenever it crosses that area. We have installed around 24,326 camera trap stations,"said Mr Ujwal.

"Over two crore photographs are expected to come to us. This technology helps reduce the possibility of circulation of fake data," he said.

The experts said this survey is a massive exercise that includes other species as well, including, leopards and lesser cats, but the focus largely remains on tigers.