Telangana Forest Department Calls For Volunteers For Tiger Count
Volunteers must commit for the entire seven-day duration of the exercise. The department will provide basic accommodation with simple food sourced locally and transportation. Since it is a volunteer programme there will be no honorarium.
HYDERABAD: The forest department officially called for volunteers to take part in the week-long all India tiger estimation (AITE) in January. Anyone between the ages of 18 and 60, as long as they are able to walk 10 to 12 km a day in rugged terrain, can apply, the department said on Tuesday.
Volunteers must commit for the entire seven-day duration of the exercise. The department will provide basic accommodation with simple food sourced locally and transportation. Since it is a volunteer programme there will be no honorarium.
Volunteers be trained on field protocols, including the use of the M-STrIPES mobile app, for data recording.
“The forest department is calling upon all citizens, students, NGOs, and wildlife enthusiasts to take part in this landmark endeavour. Together, we can ensure a future for both tigers and the wild places they represent,” the department said.
Volunteers assist forest staff in conducting transect and trail walks across designated forest beats to record, apart from direct sightings, signs and evidence of wildlife presence such as tracks, scats, pellets, and other indirect indicators. They will also help in habitat quality assessment, vegetation sampling, documentation of human and cattle pressures and recording of direct sightings using the M-STrIPES mobile application. “Each volunteer will be paired with trained frontline staff and will be expected to walk 10–15 km per day under varying terrain and climatic conditions and must strictly adhere to safety protocols,” the department said.
