Kolkata, December 8: The West Bengal forest department is likely to issue a list of tentative number of Royal Bengal Tigers present in the Sunderbans next month. A senior official in the forest department said the process of tiger census in the Sunderbans for the year started on November 27 and it is scheduled to be completed on January 12.

“After the process is completed, the department might announce a tentative number of tigers,” he said. The official added that a total of 1,600 camera traps have been installed at 732 locations in the entire Sunderbans, covering 40 forest areas. Tiger Population in India: Annual Tiger Census in West Bengal's Sunderbans to Begin from November 27.

“The work for collection of the footage from the camera traps will start on January 2. Last year, the number of tigers in the Sunderbans area crossed 100, and this year we expect the numbers to go up,” the official said. Rare Black Leopard Spotted in Forest During Ongoing Tiger Census in Odisha (See Pics).

Recently, the state government had released a substantial number of deer in the mangrove forests. “This was to ensure that the tigers do not reach the human habitations or buffer zones in search of food,” the official said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 08, 2023 06:45 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).