Nilgiris: The Mudumalai Tiger Reserve has started the annual tiger counting following guidelines from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). A specialised team has been deployed to conduct the census by employing automated cameras, footprint analysis, and other techniques.
The tiger census for the years 2023–2024, employing automatic cameras, is scheduled from November 28, 2023, to January 6, 2024. It covers extensive forest areas, including Theppakadu, Kargudi, Mudumalai, Nilakottai, and Masinagudi. The government has confirmed the installation of 191 automatic cameras within the reserve to facilitate this survey.
The Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, spanning 688.59 square kilometres in the Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu, lies at the convergence of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. It serves a vital role within the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve, India’s first biosphere reserve declared in 1986. Designated as a tiger reserve in 2007, it shares borders with significant conservation areas, including Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala) to the west, Bandipur Tiger Reserve (Karnataka) to the north, and various forest divisions forming a substantial conservation landscape for species like tigers and Asian elephants.
The reserve’s rich biodiversity includes tall ‘Elephant Grass,’ extensive bamboo groves, and valuable timber species like teak and rosewood. It hosts several species of endemic flora and provides a diverse habitat for numerous wildlife species, including tigers, elephants, Indian gaurs, pandas, various deer species, langurs, Malabar giant squirrels, wild dogs, mongooses, jungle cats, and hyenas.
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