To ensure a more accurate census exercise of tigers and other vulnerable and endangered animals in forests across India in 2018, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has decided to double the number of camera traps.

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The recent missive from NTCA calls for bringing down the grid size of setting up camera traps from 4 sq km to 2 sq km. India has 50 tiger reserves spread over 18 tiger range states — Maharashtra has six. The new norm will be binding on all tiger-bearing states to ensure data compatibility. The changed norms will also make sure tracking stations are doubled and robust data is generated

"The grid size for camera trap set ups will now be 2 sq km. This will help us count smaller prey and non-prey animals like porcupines, mouse deer and the chousingha (four-horned antelope), and also endangered and vulnerable species. It will give us an estimate of the number of these animals, and whether their numbers are rising or falling," an NTCA official told DNA.

More camera traps will also help develop a richer repository of camera trap images of tigers, and will promote research.

"The increase in captures by camera traps will increase detection probability and accuracy while decreasing the margin of error," he said.

The additional camera traps will be installed in forests from November 2017 to November 2018.

The official said that the decision as taken in a recent meeting in New Delhi between NTCA officials, experts from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), wildlife wardens and field directors of tiger-range states.

Camera trapping will commence from November 2017 in tiger areas, and data collection is expected to be completed and submitted by November 2018. WII will analyse data from November 2018 to January 2019. The report will be published in March 2019.

Kedar Gore, Director, The Corbett Foundation welcomed the move. "Tigers cannot be studied in isolation. Its presence has to be correlated with prey species. Smaller grids and more cameras would lead to a higher probability of tigers being photo-captured," he said.

NTCA conducts a tiger census every four years. The third round was conducted in 2014, and saw 9,735 cameras deployed on 3,78,118 sq km forests in 18 tiger states, and estimated India's tiger population at 2,226, with a minimum range of 1,945 tigers and maximum of 2,491. The increase in camera traps will help narrow down this range and make figures more exact.

AT A GLANCE

  • The changed camera trapping norms will ensure that tracking stations are doubled and robust data is generated.

  • Trapping is conducted for a period of 20 trap nights and later, the camera traps are shifted for five days in the vicinity.

  • Camera trapping will be commence from November 2017 in tiger areas and will be completed with data submission by November 2018. WII will analyse data from November 2018 to January 2019. The report will be published in March 2019.

  • The changed methodology will ensure more accurate tiger estimations and capture details of other species like leopards and herbivores. It will reveal data of endangered and vulnerable animals like pangolins, sloth bear, wild water buffaloes, chousingha, barsingha, musk deer, mouse deer and gaur (Indian Bison). It will strengthen prey base monitoring

  • India has 50 tiger reserves spread over 18 tiger range states. Maharashtra has six tiger reserves.

  • India’s tiger population was estimated at 2,226 in 2014 (with a minimum range of 1,945 tigers and maximum of 2,491), up from 1,706 in 2010 (1,520- 1,909 range) in 2010 and 1,411 in 2006 (1,165- 1,657). Maharashtra estimated to have 190 tigers.

  • In the 2014 census, a total of 1,540 individual tigers were photo-captured. Though it captured details of co-predators like leopards and prey species, the changed camera trapping methodology will reveal more accurate figures.

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