The primary objective of the programme is to collect scientific and reliable data on the presence, activities and habitat of tigers, as well as other major carnivores and large herbivores.

All activities will be conducted smoothly and in a timely manner, in accordance with the All-India Tiger Estimation (AITI) 2026 guidelines.

Jena also said that 110 forest guards, 300 trackers and 25 volunteers are participating in the exercise. All teams have been deployed across various ranges and beats of the Palamu Tiger Reserve, where they are carrying out track searches, sign surveys and primary data recording.

Notably, this is the first time in Jharkhand that volunteers from different universities studying botany and zoology have been deployed for the tiger census.

According to forest officials, apart from creating a young workforce, the initiative will help raise awareness about comprehensive tiger estimation and conservation.

This is also the first time in the state that tiger censuses are being conducted outside the Palamu Tiger Reserve, in forest ranges such as Ranchi, Dumka and Hazaribagh.

Officials confirmed that the exercise combines traditional field-based methods with modern technology, including camera traps and a specially designed ecological mobile application for real-time data collection across the state’s forested landscapes.

According to the 2006 census, Jharkhand had 10 tigers, a number that fell to three in 2014. The latest report places the total number of big cats in the state at six.

Beginning with 22 tigers in 1972, the Palamu Tiger Reserve saw its peak in 1995, when it had 71 big cats. The decline that followed left only three tigers in 2014. In the 2018 tiger census, the number of tigers in the Palamu Tiger Reserve was reported as zero.