By Kavitha Srinivasa
Published Monday, July 13, 2020
The Guinness World Records has recognised India’s 2018 Tiger Census as
the world’s largest on-camera survey. Prime Minister Narendra Modi
shared the news over the weekend.
The official website of Guinness World Records states that every four
years since 2006, a nationwide assessment of India’s population and
habitat of tigers is conducted. This exercise is executed by the Indian
government’s National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Wildlife
Institute of India in collaboration with the state forest departments
and conservation NGOs. The 2018-19 survey, which is the fourth
iteration, has been the most comprehensive to date in terms of both
resource and compilation of data.
What makes this survey noteworthy is the clever usage of camera
traps, which has given a precise edge to the process of counting tigers.
The camera traps are outdoor photographic devices fitted with motion
sensors that start recording when an animal passes by. They have been
placed in 26,838 locations across 141 different sites and have surveyed
an area of 121,337 square kilometres (46,848 square miles).
In total, the camera traps have captured almost 35
million photographs of wildlife. Of these, 76,651 are tigers, 51,777 are
leopards, and the remaining ones are the native fauna. From these
photographs, 2,461 individual tigers (excluding cubs) have been
identified through stripe-pattern-recognition software.
A three-phased assessment, statistical computation of various
datasets has led to the final results of the report. There’s scope to
scale up the tiger count by improving ‘corridors’ between the isolated
pockets of tiger territory. It’s important to restore the habitat of the
majestic striped animal and save it from poaching; its community needs
to be conserved and expanded.
“The All India Tiger Estimation is now in the Guinness World Records
for being the largest camera-trap wildlife survey, a great moment indeed
and a shining example of Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” tweeted Prakash
Javadekar, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Statistics from International Tiger Day 2019 revealed that India is
home to 75 per cent of the world’s tiger population. With 2,967 tigers,
the country had strengthened its foothold as one of the world’s largest
and safest tiger habitats.
Meanwhile the lion, the king of the jungle, made news last month. The
Gir National Park in Gujarat has seen an increase in the number of
Asiatic lions over the last five years.
The lion census, which happens every five years, was supposed to be
conducted this year but the coronavirus pandemic forced authorities into
taking a different approach.
Officials from the Gujarat Forest Department conducted a population
estimation exercise on the full-moon nights of 5 and 6 June. The growing
numbers of the Asiatic lion can be attributed to a number of
factors including community participation and wildlife healthcare.
There’s also emphasis on technology, as well as habitat management;
measures to minimise human-lion conflict have also been taken.
The Gir National Park is the world’s only habitat for Asiatic Lions.
Their population has expanded from 523 in 2015 to 674 in 2020,
registering an increased growth rate of 28.87 per cent (one of the
highest growth rates so far following 27 per cent growth in 2015).
The distribution of the lions has gone up from an area of 22,000
square kilometres in 2015 to 30,000 square kilometres in 2020, which has
led to an increase in the distribution area of 36 per cent.
Modi expressed his happiness and tweeted: “Two very good news:
Population of the majestic Asiatic Lion, living in Gujarat’s Gir Forest,
is up by almost 29%. Geographically, distribution area is up by 36%.”
Let’s hope that the tigers and lions, the Alpha predators of the jungle, are preserved and protected and that their tribe grows.
https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2020/07/view-from-india-country-s-tiger-count-makes-it-to-guinness-world-records/
