Post-monsoon wildlife survey begins at Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve

The biannual six-day post-monsoon wildlife monitoring exercise to estimate carnivore and herbivore populations began at the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) here on Monday (December 29, 2025).

As part of Phase IV monitoring of tiger reserves by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), surveys are conducted twice a year: a pre-monsoon survey between June and July and a post-monsoon survey during December and January.

The current exercise began on Monday across four ranges of the Hasanur Forest Division and six ranges of the Sathyamangalam Forest Division, both under the STR. A total of 304 forest personnel, divided into 76 teams of four members each, have been deployed for the survey, which will conclude on January 3, 2026.

During the first three days, teams will document indirect signs of carnivores and herbivores, including elephants and gaurs. In the subsequent three days, line transect surveys will be conducted in the mornings and evenings. Under this method, parallel transect lines are laid at fixed intervals and walked simultaneously to record direct sightings of herbivores.

Officials said details such as the presence of co-predators, pugmarks, animal carcasses and tree bark peeling would be recorded using the M-STrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers – Intensive Protection and Ecological Status) mobile application.

The data collected through the application will be analysed by the NTCA, following which estimates of the population of tigers, elephants, leopards and other wild animals in the STR will be arrived at.