Guwahati: The Manas National Park has recorded the presence of at least 30 tigers in just concluded tiger census, which is more than double the figure of 2016 census.
The growth of tiger population in one out of at least four tiger reserves has come as a major encouragement for the forest department as conservationists pointed out that the preliminary figure for Kaziranga National Park is not yet out but, they expect it to cross the 140-mark. The authorities are also yet to announce the census report of Nameri National Park, another tiger reserve in Assam.
Pointing out that this also marks the biggest-ever tiger population in Manas after one-and-a-half decades of social unrest beginning in 1989, which had pushed the tiger reserve to the brink, the conservationists believe that this was a huge moral booster to conservation initiatives in Manas National Park that has been on a recovery path after regaining the World Heritage Site status.
It is significant that last census had recorded the presence of only 14 tigers in Manas.
The Field Director of Manas Tiger Reserve Hiranya Sharma said, “The latest tiger census done through camera-trapping has recorded 30 individuals, 24 of those being adults. The adult male-female break-up is 12-11, while the sex of one could not be determined.”
Mr Sharma also clarified that last year’s census had left the Panbari Range due to logistics constraints. “This time we covered the entire Manas landscape (in India) and are happy to have camera-trapped 30 tigers. The increase in tiger numbers is significant and a shot in the arm for Manas’ long-term conservation prospects,” he said.
