Nagpur: Latest Report (2021) by the State Forestry Department, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (Wii) revealed that there was a minimum of 352 tigers and 635 leopards in Vidarbha.
By 2020, monitoring phase IV tigers, annual training carried out by all tiger reserves, has placed the tiger numbers at 331, but because of Covid, not all areas of the tiger bearing are scanned.
All India Tiger Estimation-2018 (AITE) conducted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has expected the presence of 312 tigers in Maharashtra.
Aite-2018 numbers cannot be considered for comparison now because of almost three years since the four-year national training is carried out.
The tiger numbers in Maharashtra have increased consistently.
In 2006, the state had 103 tigers, the number increased to 168 in 2010, 190 in 2014, and 312 in 2018 and now is 352.
And it is estimated that the number is greater.
2021 reported about ‘long-term monitoring of tigers, co-predators, and prey in the hook area of ​​the Vidarbha Tiger, Maharashtra’ put the minimum number of tigers in 352 with estimated 396 (359-433).
The minimum number of leopards is 635 with population estimates 731 (663-798) in the vidarbha landscape.
In accordance with Aite-2018, there are 1,690 leopards throughout Maharashtra.
PCCF (Wildlife) Sunil Limaye associated an increase in the number of tigers and leopards on strong state government policies and conservation efforts by forest staff, NGOs, and media awareness.
Protecting an increase in the number of tigers is a big challenge before the department.
“This number increased due to extensive monitoring and sampling efforts was taken than last year in both protected areas (fitting) and outside fitting.
The number of pairs of camera trap and sampling days is also more,” said Limaye Toi.
By 2020, estimates are carried out only in limited fitting.
Tiger bearings outside TATR such as Kanhargaon, Saoli, Rajura, Warora-Bhadravati, Gadchiroli, Division of Pandharkda and other areas were abandoned because of the Covid-19 situation.
However, in the estimated 2021, all of these areas were included.
According to Bilal Habib, head, the Department of Animal Ecology & Conservation Biology, Wii, an increase in the number of tigers and leopards is due to the management of effective tiger breeding areas in Maharashtra.
“Children of one year old has not been included in estimates and all tigers are calculated not dependent on the mother.
Data will provide basic information that is important for better species conservation,” said Habib.
The Wii was involved in a wide monitoring in all right, while the NGO Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT) did the camera trapping outside the right time.
However, experts say even these numbers may not be perfect as in 2021, according to the figures of the forest department itself, 33 tigers and more than 155 leopards have died of various reasons and maybe these animals have been included in estimates.
“We have monitored the tiger population outside the right pas in Maharashtra since 2014.
Most of these areas support a steady tiger population and even provide the founding population for neighboring Telangana.
However, it is very important to now focus on the degradation of habitat, anthropogenic pressure and wild prey population In these fields because this is a key factor that dictates the conflict outside the right fitting, “said WCT wildlife biology, Aditya Joshi.
Leopard Count 2021 box on the vidarbha landscape site ———– Minut Macanard —– estimated population tadoba ———– 114 ——— 115-125 bramhapuri ——— 74 ——— 79-91 UMRED-KARHANDLA ——- 6 ———- 6-8 Navaegaon-Nagzira ——- 123 ——– 135-156 PTR ————- 60 ———- 66-85 Drill ———— 46 ———– 50-68 Melgat ———– 145 ——— 145-152 Tipeshwar ———- 5 ———- 5-11 Pandharkawada ——– 10 ———– 10 -29 pasinganga ———- 10 ———- 10-18 Dnyanganga ——— 28 ———- 28- 34 Lonar ———— 2 ———– 2 kene ——— 9 ———– 9 -16 Karanja-Sohol ——— 3 ——— total ———- 635 ———– —— 731 (663-798)