India’s 2018 Tiger Census sets a new Guinness World Record

India’s 2018 tiger census has recently entered the Guinness Book of World Record for being the most significant camera trap wildlife survey, yet.

 About all India Tiger Estimation 2018

• The fourth cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation 2018 had counted 2,967 tigers, which is about 75% of the global tiger population.
• The data is said to be the most comprehensive to date, in terms of both resource and data amassed. Camera traps (outdoor photographic devices fitted with motion sensors that start recording when an animal passes by) were placed in 26,838 locations across 141 different sites and surveyed an effective area of 1,21,337 sq.km.
• From the photographs obtained, 2,461 individual tigers (excluding cubs) were identified using stripe­ pattern­ recognition software.

Tiger Census Report 2018

• The survey was led by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Wildlife Institute of India, in collaboration with State Forest Departments. World Wildlife Fund India was the implementation partner.

Key Findings

• Madhya Pradesh was the top performer with the highest number of tigers (526), followed by Karnataka (524) and Uttarakhand (442). In contrast, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram are the worst Performers state which saw a decline in tiger population.
• Greater conservation efforts are needed in the “critically vulnerable” Northeast hills and Odisha.
• A positive outcome of the survey was that it concluded that India’s tiger population had increased by roughly one-third: from 2,226 in 2014 to 2,927 in 2018.

UPSC