I was under the impression that I was in for Tiger Census in the Hosur FD, Although I am generally not very well informed I knew the Tiger Census were over. However keeping my skepticism aside I plunged in volunteering for the task.
A little about the survey, It was organized by KANS (Kenneth Anderson Nature Society) jointly with the forest authorities during the weekend of 20th and21st of Feb. The idea was to gather volunteers, break them into groups and send them to different divisions. The group itself will be broken into at max 2 people plus the Forest Guards to trek into the forests through a path called the beat. Day one was for Direct sighting, so volunteers were to keep their eyes and ear open and of course mouth shut for direct sightings of animals and birds. Day two was for gathering indirect evidences of the fauna through collecting scats (i.e., poop of the animals.. he he) and examining/photographing pug/hoof marks. All the groups would enter the forests at the same time so that the chances of sighting increases and counting the same animal is reduced. We were to establish credential that Tigers/Leopards are in the area. This way the forests that are currently only under Reserve Forests status get promoted to Sanctuary status, as its counterparts in the Karnataka Forest division. Higher the status, more security, hence more chances that the forests are protected from the human interferences.
