There has been a healthy uptick in India’s tiger number since 2006.
Monitoring desk
ISLAMABAD: India now has 3,167 tigers, 200 more than it did have four years ago, according to the most recent tiger census in the country.
PM Narendra Modi on Sunday unveiled a report at an event to mark the 50th anniversary of the country’s Project Tiger campaign. India is thought to be home to more than 70% of the world’s tigers. Modi claimed that India had “not only saved the tiger” but also provided it with a “great ecosystem in which to thrive.”
After the animal population became alarmingly low, then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi launched Project Tiger in 1973. According to one estimate, 80,000 tigers were killed in India between 1875 and 1925. Bounty and sport hunting were common, and by the 1960s, the tiger population had plummeted precipitously.
However, a number of government initiatives, including a ban on hunting and village awareness drives, have been put in place since then to conserve the tiger, which is also India’s national animal.
Laws were also enacted to make killing or capturing wild animals illegal, even when they were involved in conflict with humans. Tiger populations have increased steadily since 2006.
Tiger population increased in India
The tiger population has increased significantly in the Gangetic and Shivalik flood plains in the north, followed by the central India, where tigers have entered new areas in the states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, according to the 2022 report.
However, tiger populations in the Western Ghats, a mountain range that runs along India’s western coast, have declined.
The report also stated that the local tiger population had become extinct in several areas, including some reserves. It warned of the need for “serious conservation efforts” in states such as Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh.
It has also identified a number of challenges, such as the need to balance large-scale economic development with conservation and address human-animal conflict. Other issues include illegal wildlife trade and climate change’s impact on tiger habitats.
The report says that the increase in the tiger population is a positive sign. Still, we must not become complacent, and we must continue our efforts to ensure the survival of this animal and safeguard our forested ecosystems in their entirety.
