Three-phased process will conclude in June next year
PANAJI
The State Forest department has sought the government approval to participate in 2026 All India Tiger Estimation (AITE), which is set to commence from next month.
The census that will be carried out in three phases -- on ground-tracking and habitat mapping, satellite integration and remote sensing and camera trap method -- will conclude in June, next year.
A senior officer informed that a proposal has been sent to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane seeking necessary permissions to conduct the AITE, a nation wide tiger survey.
The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) are all set to conduct the sixth cycle of AITE.
"Though we have already received schedule for conduct of AITE from WII, as a process, we need the government approval," the officer said.
As per the schedule released for conduct of the census for Goa, the phase I -- where the officers and volunteers will record indirect signs of tigers like pugmarks, claw marks, scat and prey remains apart from vegetation density and signs of human presence -- will be held from December to February 2026 while the data has to be submitted from March to May in total six rounds.
The final phase of the census- ‘Camera Traps and AI-Based Identification’-will be held simultaneously from December to May 2026. During this phase, WII will place cameras near trails, ridgelines, or waterholes identified during ground surveys. The cameras will remain active for 25 days, capturing images of wildlife movements and images are analysed using software that recognises unique stripe patterns, identifying each tiger individually.
The AITE began in 2006 and since then, five cycles have been completed (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022). The State has participated in all the five cycles so far and as per the 2022 tiger census, Goa has got five tigers.
