First ever Nagaland tiger census this year

A training camp was conducted for the field staff of All India Tiger Estimation (AITE), Friday at 10:30 a.m at Forest Department Offices Complex.
As the Nagaland gears up for its first ever tiger census as part of AITE 2018, under the aegis of the Wildlife Wing, Department of Environment Forests & Climate Change, the training camp is a precursor to the upcoming tiger estimation exercise.
Informing of this, a press release from the department said that the training camp for the tiger estimation consisted of a class room briefing followed by a mock drill for estimating wildlife.
Speaking on the occasion, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, Satya Prakash Tripathi (IFS) explained the importance the tiger as the top predators in the forests, the presence and movement of tigers in the forests of Nagaland before and how this had reduced.
Wildlife Warden of Kiphire and AITE 2018 Nagaland Nodal Officer, Suman W.M Sivachar (IFS) said that tiger population estimation is determined by a variety of factors that include finding habitat characteristics, prey availability and anthropogenic (human) pressures.
Rajkumar M (IFS), speaking about the importance of this census and how it will help conserve the forests of Nagaland, educated the staff regarding the various wildlife signs – pellets, visual sightings, animal calls and pug marks.
He urged field staff to collect the data with utmost care since they will showcase the treasures of Nagaland to the world.
The mock field drill was led by the Intanki National Park Range officers – Kenlum and Aaron, who took the staff to the field to demonstrate the activities that will constitute the estimation. Singhpan Wildlife Sanctuary Ranger, Jongpong Walling was also present.
According to the press release, the event was attended by 25 members and a similar exercise will be conducted soon for the frontline staff of Singhphan and Fakim wildlife sanctuaries.