Volunteers and Forest Department staff have reached the camps to begin the elephant number estimation in their respective blocks on Wednesday. The department has identified 24 blocks in five ranges of the district and three-four people have been deputed to each block to take up the survey.
M.L. Manjunath, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF), told The Hindu, “We have trained the staff and volunteers. They will follow a set procedure to estimate the elephant numbers,” he said.
Around 10 volunteers have joined hands with the department to carry out the exercise that will end on May 19. “Each block is around 500 ha. The allotted teams will take count of the elephants in their respective blocks. They will stay put in a camp close to these blocks,” Ramesh Babu, Assistant Conservator of Forests (Sakleshpur sub-division), said.
On the first day, the participants will take the count in their respective blocks, while on the second, they will adopt the indirect method of dung count. The survey will be completed with a counting of elephants spotted at waterholes and salt lick points.
