The population of wild tuskers in Kerala and that of tigers in the Wayanad landscape have declined over the last five years, the latest wildlife census has shown.
Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran, who presented the findings of enumerations undertaken by the Forest department here on Friday, said the tiger population in Wayanad had come down to 84 from 120 in 2018, while that of elephants had fallen to 1,920, down from 3,322 in 2017.
The studies have disproved the presumption that the population of such animal species exceeded the carrying capacity of forests. Such speculations triggered by multiple instances of wild animal attacks on humans, particularly in Wayanad, had necessitated the census. The findings also corroborated the Status of Tigers 2022 report released by the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
