Amrabad reserve records 42 tigers in AITE-2026

Hyderabad: The All-India Tiger Estimation- (AITE) 2026 has recorded a strong tiger presence in Amrabad Tiger Reserve (ATR), with preliminary findings identifying 42 individual big cats, underscoring a stable and breeding population across the landscape.The exercise, carried out over eight months from Nov 2025 to June 2026, covered the reserve’s entire 2,611 sq km area through a meticulously planned, grid-based camera trap survey. Preliminary analysis indicates the presence of 18 female tigers, 14 males, two sub-adults and eight cubs. Officials said the presence of cubs and sub-adults points to active breeding and a healthy, reproducing population within the reserve.To ensure uniform and scientific coverage, the reserve was divided into 2 sq km grids. A total of 2,240 camera traps were deployed across 1,120 strategically chosen locations. The survey was conducted in four phases, with each block monitored for 30 days, allowing for consistent and reliable photographic documentation of wildlife.Despite the scale and success of the exercise, teams had to navigate significant challenges, including difficult terrain, dense forest cover, extreme weather variations and the logistical complexity of installing and monitoring camera traps in remote and inaccessible areas.

Ensuring uninterrupted functioning of equipment and movement across wildlife habitats also required careful coordination and sustained field effort.The extensive field exercise was carried out under the supervision of Sunil S Hiremath, field director, ATR, and Revanth Chandra, district forest officer, Nagarkurnool. Forest divisional officers, range officers, frontline staff, reserve biologists and the Hyderabad Tiger Conservation Society team were involved in planning, deployment, monitoring, data management and analysis.Officials said the camera trapping survey is a critical component of the national tiger estimation programme, generating scientific data on tiger numbers, distribution, prey base and habitat conditions while reflecting the scale of effort required to monitor wildlife across challenging forest landscapes.