The pre-monsoon tiger census commenced at Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) on Sunday. According to officials, around 300 field staff in the reserve and 36 students of Wildlife Biology from the Government Arts College, Udhagamandalam, were in the forests looking for direct sighting and evidences for the presence of the feline.
They would look for tiger scat, pug marks, kills, etc. as evidence for indirect sighting. The staff and students would spend three hours in the mornings and two hours in the evenings in the five forest ranges that come under the tiger reserve. The reserve is spread over 321 sq.km. covering Theppakad, Masinagudi, Kargudi, Mudumalai and Nilakottai ranges. The officials and students would be on the census operation for seven days and report the findings to the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
