Bengal to count big herbivores too from next tiger census
Form the next tiger census, in December-January, big herbivores like deer, antelope, elephants and others will also be counted as the latter are important to the ecosystem inhabited by tigers.
Come December, it will no longer be the big cats that will be counted across five national parks in Bengal, but also a host of big herbivores like deer, antelopes, gaurs, rhinoceroses and elephants, depending on the region.
The state’s Chief Wildlife Warden Debal Roy told the news agency PTI recently that the new animals are being included as stipulated by the All India Coordinated Tiger Census, and with good reason. Herbivores are very important to the ecosystem inhabited by tigers (in fact, the diet of tigers consists mostly of herbivores), and hence, it is imperative to know how many herbivores are co-existing with tigers in a forest area.
The 2021-22 tiger census in Bengal will take place in December and January. The 2019-2020 census had put the number of tigers in the Sundarbans at 95, and Forest Department officials said they are hopeful the next census that will throw up a higher number, and not just in the Sundarbansm but across the state.
Roy told the PTI that five wildlife reserves have been included for the upcoming census: Sundarbans National Park, Buxa Tiger Reserve, Gorumara National Park, Jaldapara National Park and Chapramari National Park.
The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) will analyse the data from the census, Roy said, adding that apart from the camera trapping technique, other statistical models will be used to arrive at the maximum probable figure and minimum probable figure for all the animals mentioned earlier.
