Karnataka started its 2026 tiger census on January 5, covering all forest areas, including Kali, Bhadra, Nagarahole, Bandipur, and B.R.T. Tiger Reserves. It ranks second in India for its tiger numbers after Madhya Pradesh. Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre said this census is part of a nationwide exercise done every four years. Earlier counts were done in 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022, with Karnataka having about 563 tigers last time. The census will run in 38 forest divisions, with trained teams patrolling daily. The first phase, from January 5 to 7, involves three-member teams walking 5 km daily. They collect data on tiger pugmarks, scats, sightings of tigers, leopards, carnivores, and elephants. The second phase, from January 15 to 17, focuses on herbivores like deer, sambar, wild buffalo, and gaur in 14 forest divisions. Minister Khandre explained, "This will help determine where camera traps should be installed." Ramesh Kumar, Project Tiger Director and nodal officer for the National Tiger Conservation Authority, oversees the census. Minister Khandre said Kumar is tasked with "listing the number of tigers and other carnivores, assessing herbivore populations, understanding forest carrying capacity, and how many tigers each forest supports." The third phase uses this data to install camera traps. Karnataka has 2,230 camera traps across the five reserves, with Nagarahole having 600, Bandipur 550, B.R.T. 300, Bhadra 330, and Kali 450. Camera trap surveys have begun in all reserves. Steps are also taken to place traps outside reserves, using cameras from nearby surveyed reserves. Minister Khandre added, "It is observed that tigers are increasingly venturing out of forests into human habitations and it appears that the tiger population in the State has increased this time. We will get to know the exact numbers through this census."