Coimbatore: The Forest department Wednesday have commenced the official count of tigers in Mettupalayam and Sirumugai forest range in the district, using the newly acquired M-STrIPES mobile application.
Department sources said staff in all the seven forest ranges of Coimbatore forest division were given training to use M-STrIPES (Monitoring System for Tiger-Intensive Protection and Ecological Status), an exclusive tiger monitoring application developed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
The census will conclude on 12 October, they said. About 100 people, drawn from forest department and NGOs are on the job, the sources said. Other animals like leopard, elephant, bear, deer, bisons can be identified and estimated through this app, they added.