On April 9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released India’s Tiger Census summary report. The numbers reflect a rise in the minimum tiger count to 3,167 in 2022.
Tiger census figures released recently show a steady rise in their numbers in India. Incidentally, India has already featured in the Guinness Book of World Records with its 2018 Tiger Census being the world’s largest camera trap wildlife survey.
Camera trap survey is done with a digital camera connected to an infrared sensor that captures a warm, moving object in the vicinity. When an animal crosses the path of its sensor, the camera automatically records it. The data is then collated and compiled.
India has not only prevented the tiger population from declining but also provided an ecosystem where tigers can flourish, said the PM. He was inaugurating a conference to mark 50 years of Project Tiger in Mysore in Karnataka.
The figures reflect how a little political will can go a long way in sustaining ecology and wildlife. In fact, PM Modi has always taken a keen interest in the conservation of nature.
No wonder that under his leadership, management of 12 tiger reserves out of 53 has been rated as excellent by the National Tiger Conservation Authority. Not a single reserve was placed in the poor category in the recent assessment.
The fourth cycle of the Tiger Census 2018 was conducted in 2018-19. It accounted for 2,976 tigers. Thus, India earned the distinction of being home to 75 per cent of the global tiger population.
Therefore, with numbers having increased from around 1,500 in 2010, India fulfilled its resolution to double the number of tigers made at St. Petersburg Tiger Summit in 2010.
