PTR launches tiger estimation with thermal drones

PILIBHIT: Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) has begun its internal tiger estimation from today, using two thermal drone cameras to locate both resident and stray tigers in sugarcane fields and 72 sensitive villages in the reserve's eco-sensitive zone. This marks the first use of thermal drones to accurately assess tiger populations and track their movements outside the reserve, providing vital data to help authorities mitigate man-tiger conflicts.
In Aug, principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) Sanjay Shrivastav asserted including stray tigers in the estimation. However, during a meeting at PTR headquarters on Sept 4, chaired by forest and climate change minister Dr. Arun Kumar Saxena, no official decision was made.
Currently, national tiger conservation authority NTCA's national tiger estimation norms do not account for stray tigers. PTR's honorary wildlife warden, Alok Goel said that thermal drones will offer an accurate picture of the tiger population, including strays.
Divisional forest officer (DFO) Manish Singh said that the estimation will occur in two phases due to limited camera traps. The first phase covers three forest ranges—Mala, Mahof, and Deuria—divided into 201 grids, with 402 camera traps set up in partnership with WWF.
These traps, consisting of 26 infrared (IR) and 376 motion detection devices, will be installed over three days and left for 30 days to capture data. The wildlife institute of India (WII) will analyse the tiger stripes to finalise the population estimate. If WII declines, WWF experts will assist at PTR headquarters. Tiger cubs under one year old will be excluded from the final count. The 2022 NTCA report recorded 71+ tigers in PTR.