Key Highlights
- Forest personnel will adopt the MSTrIPES mobile platform for real‑time data capture during the Anamalai Tiger Reserve census.
- The application automates recording of carnivore, megaherbivore and arboreal species signs, as well as vegetation and transect metrics.
- Field operations are scheduled between 8 January and 14 January, involving over 340 staff across 115 transect lines.
- Coverage includes 958.5 km² core and 150.48 km² buffer zones, linking results to the All‑India Tiger Estimation Survey 2026.
Detailed Insights
The upcoming wildlife enumeration in Anamalai Tiger Reserve will transition from paper‑based logs to the MSTrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers: Intensive Protection and Ecological Status) app, a GPS‑enabled solution tailored for forest departments. After a concise training module, rangers will input observations—such as pugmarks of tigers and leopards, signs of elephants and gaurs, and sightings of canopy dwellers like bonnet macaques and Indian giant squirrels—directly onto the handheld device while traversing pre‑defined transects. This immediate entry curtails transcription errors, accelerates data aggregation, and ensures seamless integration with the national 2026 tiger estimation framework.
The census timetable comprises three phases: a preparatory briefing, a three‑day campaign targeting apex predators and megaherbivores (8‑10 January), a subsequent two‑day effort to gauge prey abundance (11‑13 January), and a final wrap‑up on 14 January. A contingent of 340+ forest staff from eight ranges will systematically patrol 115 line transects, guaranteeing thorough spatial coverage.
Anamalai spans 1,108 km² across Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts, partitioned into a protected core (958.5 km²) and a surrounding buffer (150.48 km²). The 2022 count documented roughly 25 resident tigers, with an additional 7–8 individuals shared with adjacent Parambikulam Reserve, summing to 57–58 tigers regionally. Recent field evidence—fresh pugmarks in the Kolumam buffer and cub sightings in Ulanthy—suggests a positive population trajectory that the upgraded survey aims to confirm.
Key Concepts
- MSTrIPES App: A mobile, GPS‑integrated system for instantaneous recording of wildlife signs, eliminating manual transcription.
- Transect Line: A straight, pre‑mapped path used by rangers to sample animal signs and habitat attributes uniformly.
- Core and Buffer Zones: Designated inner sanctuary area (core) with strict protection, surrounded by a peripheral buffer that mitigates human‑wildlife conflict.
- Pellet Analysis: Scientific examination of animal droppings to infer prey density and habitat health.