The first phase of tiger estimation in Kerala forests, stretching into five landscapes at Wayanad, Nilambur, Periyar and Agasthyamala has begun.
This is part of the nation-wide tiger estimation of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), being carried out by 2,088 field staff in three phases. The first phase, which began yesterday, would be executed by the respective state governments.
The second and third phases of estimation would be done by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) using camera traps and remote sensing data, forest officials said.
The areas earmarked for estimation in the state have been divided into 690 blocks. Additional Principal Chief Conservator Om Prakash Kaler would supervise the entire exercise.
The field staff would carry out data collection, carnivore sign survey, finding out the trail of tigers and laying out of transects to monitor animal population in a specific block.
A training workshop for forest officers of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu was held by NTCA and WII at Periyar Tiger Reserve from October 9 to 11.
In the 2010 estimation, the country's tiger population stood at 1,706.
