Pugmark

[4] Indian forester Saroj Raj Choudhury developed the technique of the ‘pugmark census’ in 1966 to track tigers.

[5] It involves collecting pugmark tracings and plaster casts from the field and analyzing these to determine the number, track dimensions and spatial distribution of key species.

The plaster casts and tracings along with field information are together analysed with map of the area to remove repetitions and overlaps in pug-evidences collected for the same tiger.

It is very cost-effective or economic, and all money spent in the process goes to local tribal people who act as assistants as they possess the skill to track animals in Indian jungles.

Like any study technique, Pugmark tracking also calls for sincerity for true reflection of structure and spatial distribution of the population of large carnivores.