Balasore, Nov 20: The annual tiger census commenced on Thursday at the Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary in the Nilagiri region of Balasore district. Acting on the directives of Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Prafulla Mallik, forest department teams have ventured deep into the dense forest areas surrounding the sanctuary to carry out the exercise.

As part of traditional tracking methods, Plaster of Paris casts had earlier been placed at various strategic points in the forest. Footprints left on these casts help officials identify tiger species. Tigers are also known to frequent natural water sources, and fresh pugmarks along stream banks and soft terrain are being closely examined for the census.

Spread across 272.75 square kilometers, Kuldiha Sanctuary hosts a diverse range of wildlife, including several tiger species. The area is home to the Kalarapataria and Heta tigers, and last year a large tiger from the Similipal Sanctuary reportedly stayed in the region for several days. The sanctuary also supports one resident tigress, with whom the visiting tiger had shared the territory for a brief period. During its stay, the tiger is believed to have preyed on wildlife as well as local cattle.

However, forest officials have not detected signs of the tiger in recent days, raising concerns about its current whereabouts.