Similipal to remain closed till Apr 30 for census

Ayaskant Das Published On : Apr 16, 2016 at 8:52 PM

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Apr 16:

The Simlipal National Park in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district will remain closed for tourists from tomorrow to April 30 for the tiger census.

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State Forest department had decided to conduct a fresh tiger census in Similipal National Park following discrepancy in the report by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on the number of big cats in the state.

According to reports, the department will use camera trapping method for which 500 close circuit television (CCTV) cameras have been installed in the core area of the tiger reserve. While the headcount will begin tomorrow, it will continue till April 30.

Following the completion of the census, the data obtained will be matched with the earlier data collected with the statistical and pug mark method to arrive at a conclusion.

Notably, the NTCA, in its report based on 2014 census, had stated that the number of tigers has fallen in Similipal. There were 45 tigers in the state in 2006 which came down to 32 in 2010 and further to 28 in 2014, it said.