PANJIM: As part of All India Tiger Estimation 2018, Goa Forest Department will conduct a week-long tiger census in the State’s wild in April. The National Tiger Conservation Authority conducts the census throughout India every four years.
During the last census, conducted in 2014, the presence of five tigers was recorded in the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary. Again in August 2017, the camera-trap technology had recorded presence of five tigers – one male, two female and two cubs.
Deputy Conservator of Forest, Vikas Dessai, said that while conducting the census, incidents of tiger sightings by people are taken into consideration, and importance is given to pug marks, excreta, remnants of prey. “After recording all pieces of evidence, camera traps are installed to capture their movements,” he said.
The contiguous forests of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra and the reserve forests and wildlife sanctuary of Radhanagari in Karnataka, Chandoli National Park and the reserve forests of Purna and Dodamarg in Maharashtra have been named as Tiger Conservation Units (TCU) (minimum habitat area to support 50 tigers or documented evidence of 50 tigers).
Meanwhile, Forest Department is awaiting replies from neighbouring zoos to its request for a new pair of tigers for Bondla Zoo.
The department had written to Dr Shivaram Karnath Biological Park, Mangaluru, Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens – popularly known as ‘Mysuru Zoo’ – and another zoo at Bangalore for a pair of tigers in exchange for either a bison family or deer family. “We are yet to receive any reply from them,” Desai said.
Bondla zoo lost its pair of tigers – Rana and Sandhya – over a year ago. The death of both the animals was attributed to ‘natural causes’ since they had reached old age.
The pair had been brought from Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Vishakhapatnam in 2009.
