Patna: The annual tiger count at Bihar's Valmiki Tiger Reserve is going to start in a week. The census, which is done using camera traps, is likely to finish by March next year.

"We will use 400 cameras for the annual census, which will be carried out in phases," the reserve's director S. Chandrashekhar said.

The census will start from the Manguraha Range in the eastern side and move westwards covering all the eight ranges of the state's only tiger reserve spread over 898sqkm around 300km northwest of Patna: Manguraha, Govardhana, Raghia, Harnatarn, Chiutaha, Ganauli, Madanpur and Valmikinagar.

The tiger census used to be conducted every four years across the country. In 2010, the National Tiger Conservation Authority ordered reserves to conduct the annual census to keep a regular tab on the big cat numbers. The census work will be done in coordination with authorities at the Chitwan National Park and the Parsa Wildlife Sanctuary of Nepal. Chitwan is north of the reserve while the Parsa sanctuary is on the eastern side of the reserve. These two areas of Nepal too have a good number of tigers and as the three forest areas are contiguous, the big cats keep moving between them.

The authorities at Valmiki are also awaiting the Centre's nod for a supplementary annual plan of action submitted in which the reserve has demanded Rs 1.45 crore to buy 10 elephants from Karnataka. Thee would be used for patrolling as well as for eco tourism. "The presence of elephants in tiger reserves is a very common practice, hence we too have decided to have a team of 10 elephants at our disposal," Chandrashekhar said.

"All details have been worked out and officials in Karnataka have assured us of providing the elephants as soon as we are ready to receive the animals."

The Valmiki authorities will also get technical assistance from Karnataka for training mahouts.