Bhubaneswar: The Forest Department’s internal survey has recorded an increase in the tiger population in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in Odisha.
According to Chief Wildlife Warden Prem Kumar Jha, the tiger count in Similipal has risen from 27 last year to 32. “Camera traps installed across different zones have identified unique stripe patterns belonging to 32 tigers,” he said, adding that it reflected a positive trend in wildlife conservation efforts.
He also confirmed the presence of nine cubs in the tiger reserve.
These findings have come amid the first phase of the All India Tiger Estimation (AITE)-2026 conducted across 103 beats of the STR, which concluded on November 22. This nationwide estimation is carried out in two phases, spanning over a year.
Jha added that the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) will release the nationwide tiger population estimation report in June of next year and the preliminary figures will undergo additional validation after the central audit is finalised.
In 2024, the then Odisha government conducted its own tiger estimate after the AITE 2022 pegged the figure at 20. It had then put the big cat count at 30 with 24 camera-trapped in STR and one each in Keonjhar (territorial and wildlife combined), Paralakhemundi territorial and Hirakud wildlife divisions. The remaining three adult tigers were seen in parts of the same STR region.
The All Odisha Tiger Estimation (AOTE) 2023-24 report further revealed the presence of eight tiger cubs.
The report suggested that the tiger population in Odisha has increased from the previous estimate of AITE, which reported a minimum of 16 tigers in STR and four more using the Similipal landscape.
