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The annual monitoring of tigers in the Kaziranga National Park using camera traps in the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 has recorded a total of 118 individual tigers (adults, sub-adults and cubs) including the six photo identified tigers that died during the period of study.
A three-year summary of the camera capture history of the identified individual tigers was presented in a report released by Assam Forest and Environment Minister Rakibul Hussain, in the presence of Principal Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) Suresh Chand, Director KNP Sanjib Bora, other senior forest officials and researchers and biologist of Aaranyak.
The report titled 'Tigers of the Kaziranha National Park, Assam, India, 2009-2011', has been published by Aaranyak.
The results presented in the report reflect the individual tigers identified in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The results of camera trappings in the year 2011 have also been published by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (Status of tigers in India, 2011).
Interestingly, the 2011 national tiger population estimation report puts the population of tigers in the Kaziranga Tiger Reserve as 106 (minimum 81 to maximum 131).
The population of tigers in the Kaziranga National Park, which is a source population for the entire region, holds key to conservation of tigers in nearby Karbi Anglong hills and foothills of Arunachal Pradesh (Nameri-Pakke) in the north bank of the river Brahmaputra.
Congratulating the team, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in his message said that the scientific collaboration between the NGO and Assam forest department had brought out credible scientific information on the population of tigers in Assam. He congratulated Aaranyak, a premier biodiversity conservation society of the North Eastern region, for its efforts to complement research, conservation and protection of biodiversity in the state.
Forest Minister, Rakibul Hussain, while complementing Aaranyak for its efforts to record tiger species in the park through the camera trapping method, said that the tiger population was on the rise in the national park basically because of the untiring and selfless efforts of the frontline staff of the park.
He said that the grasslands of Kaziranga were known to be one of the best tiger habitats in the world. "When the hope for tiger conservation is fast dimming all over the world, forests in Assam continue to offer the best habitat for this charismatic and majestic animal for centuries," Hussain said.
Dr Bibhab Talukdar, secretary general of Aaranyak has mentioned that the stringent protection provided in Kaziranga for rhino conservation over the years has benefited the tiger and prey population to grow. It is now imperative that this growing population of tigers could disperse to other suitable habitats in Assam and adjoining states to build future population of tigers in the region. This brings to focus the need to maintain corridors for such dispersal of wild animals, he said.
Dr M Firoz Ahmed, senior biologist of Aaranyak, who led this exercise from Aaranyak, said that the exercise of camera trapping in a tall grassland habitat is very challenging. "The entire team has done an excellent job and the results are rewarding. Through this exercise we have also tried to train the staff of the forest department and make them a resource during phase IV monitoring of tigers in Kaziranga TR," he added.