Bangalore: The state-controlled National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) yesterday notified new protocol for intensive monitoring of tiger source population under phase IV of the National Tiger Estimation Report. Welcoming the step, Ullas Karanth, Bangalore-based expert on tiger conservation, said the new protocol would put India’s tiger monitoring programme well ahead of big cat monitoring programmes in other countries. Karanth is a recipient of the Padma Shri award for his contributions to wildlife conservation and environment protection. “I and my colleagues have been working with the NTCA and the Wildlife Institute of India, in a supportive technical role, in developing the protocol since 2009. When implemented fully, these refinements will put India’s tiger monitoring programme well ahead of any other monitoring programme for big cats, anywhere in the world,” said Karanth, the second Indian after late ornithologist Salim Ali to receive the prestigious J Paul Getty Award for Conservation Leadership. The new protocol would enable state forest departments to formally collaborate with qualified scientists to get an estimate of minimum numbers and population density of tigers, change in number of tigers over time, survival and other crucial data. The protocol specifies strict standards for conduct of camera trap and fecal DNA surveys of important source populations of tigers as well as conduct of line transect surveys to find out density of prey. According to the new protocol, the camera traps deployed should be left open for a period of 40-60 days. If deployment of camera traps in an entire reserve or parts of it is not feasible for any reason, fecal DNA samples may be collected over the entire tiger reserve for the “capture-recapture” analysis. The tiger population size may then be estimated over the entire tiger reserve using mark-recapture methodology. With regard to line transects data for ascertaining prey density, the new protocol laid down that these must be systematically placed with a random start and the data should be analysed in collaboration with a technical expert or scientist conversant with the “distance sampling” analysis. The protocol will work in tandem with a national tiger photographic data base repository to be developed and maintained at the NTCA. THE REFINEMENTS Camera traps deployed should be left open for 40-60 days If the deployment of camera traps is not feasible, fecal DNA samples may be collected over the entire tiger reserve for "capture-recapture" analysis The tiger population size may then be estimated over the entire tiger reserve using mark-recapture methodology