India’s 2018 tiger census has entered the Guinness Book of World Records for being the world’s largest-ever camera-trap wildlife survey. As per the survey, the estimated count of tigers in India is 2,967, which is approximately 75 per cent of the global population. Nearly 2,461 of them have been photo-captured. The assessment of the ‘Status of Tigers in India’ in 2018 also included detailed foot surveys of around 522,996 km of tracks and sampling of 317,958 habitat plots for vegetation and prey dung. The tiger population in West Bengal’s Sundarbans recently increased from 88 to 96. Read on to know the details.
India’s 2018 Tiger Census Entered The Guinness Book Of World Records
According to a ANI tweet, Prakash Javadekar, the Minister of Environment said, “Our census of tigers entered Guinness World Records because we have installed more cameras to monitor them as compared to other countries. Their population is nearly 70 percent of the world’s tiger population.” India has reached double the tiger count before the target of 2022 set at St Petersburg in 2010. Javadekar added, “It is a shining example of ‘atmanirbhar’ Bharat attained through ‘sankalp se siddhi’.” Also, Gir forest in Gujarat is now home to 674 Lions which 29 percent higher from last year.
The 2018-19 Survey Was The Most Comprehensive To Date: Guinness World Records
The Guinness World Records website reads, “Every four years since 2006, the Indian Government’s National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) – collaborating with state forest departments and conservation NGOs – have conducted a nationwide assessment into the country’s population and habitat of tigers (Panthera tigris tigris). The fourth iteration of the survey – conducted in 2018–19 – was the most comprehensive to date, in terms of both resource and data amassed.”
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The Survey Was Conducted In Three Phases
The surveyors had placed camera traps in 26,838 locations across 141 different sites. They had examined an effective area of 121,337 square kilometres. In total, the camera traps captured 34,858,623 photographs of wildlife. From these photographs, they identified 2,461 individual tigers (excluding cubs) using stripe-pattern-recognition software. Among the total animals captured, 76,651 were tigers, 51,777 were leopards and the remainder were other creatures. The survey took place in three phases.
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India’s tiger population has grown roughly by about one-third, from 2,226 in 2014 to 2,927 in 2018. Kudos to the forest authorities and the Government for their constant efforts to preserve the rich wildlife of the country. Also, Sundarbans tiger reserve has recently reopened for tourists with safety measures. On that note, here’s a virtual tour through the jungles of Kanha in Madhya Pradesh: