Forests in TN out of bounds for tourists during census

December 16, 2013 02:29 am | Updated 02:29 am IST - COIMBATORE/UDHAGAMANDALAM:

Wildlife census will be on from December 16 to 22.'A view of Topslip in Coimbatore district

Wildlife census will be on from December 16 to 22.'A view of Topslip in Coimbatore district

With Forest officials gearing up for a synchronised wildlife census from December 16 to 22, key tourist places in Coimbatore and the Nilgiris will be closed till the completion of the survey.

Top Slip and other forest areas under Anaimalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) would remain closed.

M. Badhrasamy, District Forest Officer, the Nilgiris South Division, said that Avalanche, Cairn Hill and Upper Bhavani will remain out of bounds for tourists.

As many as 225 staff members and more than 75 volunteers will be given a briefing on the dos and don’ts during the census in tiger reserves and protected forest areas, said Rajiv K. Srivastava, Field Director, ATR. The census will be done in 958 sq km area spread over six ranges.

In Coimbatore, the Conservator of Forests – Coimbatore Circle V.T. Kandasamy and District Forest Officer M. Senthilkumar are finalising the arrangements for the census to be carried out in over 650 sq km area over six ranges.

Mr. Srivastava said the briefing session on Monday will be to guide the staff and volunteers on line transect method. There are a total of 74 line transects for the wildlife count. The training would also include how to operate the GPS and to fill up six different forms.

From December 17 to 19, the census would be for carnivore sign survey, and volunteers and staff will have to walk for a minimum of five km.

The staff will look for evidence of carnivores like pug marks, scratch marks on tree barks and scats. From December 18 to 22, the drive would assess the prey population to assess the health of the habitat.

The survey would also include assessment of vegetation survey and evaluation of human disturbance. Volunteers would also record sightings of lesser-known species, be it insects, birds, mammals or amphibians.

Teams will be provided with first aid box and staff had been asked to stock anti-venom serum at base camps besides keeping a list of nearby hospitals.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.