Bhubaneswar, Nov. 16 -- The Similipal Tiger Reserve on Saturday launched its annual tiger census, beginning a multi-stage enumeration exercise in accordance with guidelines issued by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

Forest authorities said the exercise will be conducted in two distinct phases, combining field surveys, mobile-based data collection and an extensive camera-trap grid across the sanctuary.

Sources reported that the first phase focuses on mapping tiger movement zones across southern Similipal and documenting indirect evidence such as pugmarks, scrape marks, scats and other signs. As part of this process, the forest personnel are laying transect lines across identified areas to standardise data collection.

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