30 Tigers, 8 Cubs Inhabit Odisha, States Tiger Estimation Report 2023-24

Bhubaneswar: According to the first All Odisha Tiger Estimation (AOTE) report 2023-24 conducted by the Odisha Forest Department, there are 30 tigers and eight cubs, under less than one year, in Odisha.

Out of these 30 tigers mentioned in the report, 27 adult tigers were camera-trapped in Odisha during the AOTE exercise. The rest three in the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) were not camera-trapped.

The 27 camera-trapped tigers include 14 males and 13 females. The STR has the highest number of 24 tigers. It has 11 usual morph tigers including seven females and four males, 13 pseudo melanistic tigers including seven females and six males, and eight tiger cubs.

Apart from the STR, Keonjhar Territorial and Keonjhar Wildlife, Paralakhemundi Territorial and Hirakud Wildlife have one tiger each.

The report suggests that the tiger population in Odisha has increased from the previous estimate of AITE (All India Tiger Estimation), 2022 which reported a minimum of 17 tigers.

The tiger population in the Similipal Tiger Reserve has increased from 16 tigers captured through Camera Traps in 2021-2022 to the present number of 27.