Tiger count drive in in three prominent reserve forests

TT, 04 Nov 2018, Alipurduar: The state forest department will conduct a census of tigers in three prominent reserve forests of north Bengal, starting from next week.

The drill, foresters said, would begin from November 14 and conclude on November 19.

"A census on signage of carnivores and a survey of herbivores will be conducted during the exercise in Buxa Tiger Reserve, Jaldapara National Park and the Gorumara National Park," said Subhankar Sengupta, field director of the BTR.

The department, sources said, has also decided to install 100 pair of trap cameras in Jaldapara and another 50 pair in Gorumara after the census. 

"This would help us to know about the animals dwelling at these national parks and particularly about carnivores," said an official.

In Buxa, 80 teams would participate in the survey. The number of teams for Jaldapara and Gorumara would be decided in couple of days, Sengupta said. 

The survey, however, would not be carried out at Neora Valley National Park where tigers were sighted a number of times since 2016, as the park does not come in the area under the National Tiger Conservation Authority.