The Tamil Nadu Forest Department announced that the first phase of the All India Tiger Estimation (AITE) 2026 will start on January 5. The exercise will continue in seven-day cycles across various forest divisions until the end of February. This is the world’s largest wildlife monitoring exercise. It runs once every four years and is led by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Wildlife Institute of India. The survey counts tigers, co-predators like leopards, wild dogs, and hyenas. It also estimates the population of big herbivores such as gaur, sambar deer, spotted deer, and barking deer. The monitoring includes habitat surveys through signs, line transects, camera traps, and genetic sampling. Tamil Nadu will participate with its five tiger reserves: Kalakad Mundanthurai, Anamalai, Mudumalai, Sathyamangalam, and Srivilliputhur-Megamalai. The state’s tiger population rose from 264 in 2018 to 306 in 2022. Chief Wildlife Warden Rakesh Kumar Dogra said the project will cover all tiger reserves, other tiger habitats, and private lands with many carnivores. Frontline staff and volunteers will use camera traps and the M-STrIPES monitoring system in the survey. Interested people can register at the tiger reserve offices beforehand.