The state forest department has decided to install cameras in tall trees to count tigers in the Sundarbans from December.
Top state forest department official Sintanshu Bikash Mandal said: “It was a conscious decision. The task of installing the cameras in tall trees will be completed as soon as possible.”
Sources said there’s confusion regarding the exact number of tigers in the Sundarbans, an area of about 2,582 square kilometres.
Reports available from 1997 show it had around 256 to 270 tigers. But a very recent revelation by forest officials said the number of tiger would be far less, possibly between 65 and 70.
This has caused huge embarrassment to the state government, which had stuck to a higher number.
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