Patna, Sept. 19: Valmiki Tiger Reserve has at least 30 big cats after the latest count, which will be revealed next month.
Sources in the environment and forests department have told The Telegraph that the number of tigers at Valmiki now stands at between 30 and 35. According to the last internal tiger census data of 2016, the reserve around 300km northwest of Patna had 28 tigers.
The official said the announcement about the number of tigers was likely to be made during Wildlife Week that is observed in October.
'The announcement will be made once the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, sends its final report to us,' the official said. 'It has been hinted that the reserve is home to at least 30 tigers. We have also been tipped that there are 10 tiger cubs in the reserve.'
These figures are based on the internal census conducted at VTR in December last year and January and February this year. Total 250 pairs of camera traps were used for this purpose. The camera traps were placed in different ranges of the tiger reserve, spread over 898sqkm. The data from the camera traps had been sent to the Dehradun-based institute in March for final analysis and generation of the report.
The report is yet to be sent. 'We have been told that the delay in generation of final data is because some other tiger reserves had not sent their data in the required format to the WII. The issue has now been sorted and the final report is expected soon,' the official said.
Earlier, tiger census used to be quadrennial exercise and counting was simultaneously conducted across the country's tiger reserves. But in 2010, the National Tiger Conservation Authority devised a fresh guideline, asking tiger reserves to conduct the census annually as well. This was to keep tabs on the tiger numbers in the years falling between the quadrennial exercise.
As it took time for the states to prepare for conducting the internal census, many tiger reserves could not start the work in 2011. At VTR, the first internal census was conducted in 2012 with collaboration of the World Wildlife Fund. The result was out in 2013.
