The wildlife census has begun in five districts Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara,RatnagiriandSindhudurg with a focus on increasing the Population of prey-based animals that will eventually lead to rise in population of big cats like tigers and leopards.
Over 300 beat forest guards along with local volunteers have been assigned with the task to carry out the exercise from Saturday and it is expected to be completed in next few days.
The beat forest guards equipped with GPS-enabled mobile application are walking in forests and recording every animal species and geotagging them. At the end of the exercise, the data from each of the forest guards will be compiled and uploaded online.
Increasing the population of the wild animals is the basic aim of the census. With the help ofWildlife Institute Dehradun, the initiative to enclose 16 hectare from Chandoli reserve forest is being carried out. The animals on which the tigers survive will be put in this enclosure and breeding will be carried out.