Second phase census of tiger population begins next month

KHULNA, Oct 26 (BSS): The second phase camera trapped census of Tiger population in the Sunderbans begins in November.
A total of 30 field workers will use 89 cameras for trapping to count the total tiger population in the Bangladesh part of the mangrove.
This is for the first time that census of Bengal tiger population and its monitoring would be done using camera instead of pugmarks (footprints) method.
Funded by the World Bank under "Strengthening Regional Co-operation for Wildlife Protection Project" the census would continue up till June 2015.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) in charge of Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Zahidul Kabir told BSS that the two-year project would be implemented involving Tk 22.5 million.
The first phase camera trapped census of the Tiger population in the Sunderbans was completed in last April in 2014, he said.
He said. 89 automatic infrared cameras have been planted at different points of the Sunderbans for holding movement and take pictures of tigers.
One camera has the capacity to hold picture of about 300 square kilometers of area for 20 days at a stretch.
"I would not disclose the result of first phase census", he said adding that the actual number of Bengal Tigers can be ascertained after analysis of the pictures, he said.
Bangladesh has taken a number of steps for tiger conservation, including Tiger Action Plan 2009-2017, National Tiger Recovery Programme and amendment to the Forest Act 2012, he added.
He also mentioned that census of tiger population will be followed by census of deer and other wild life population.