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Contents
Source: The post is based on the article “Express View: Celebrate the rise in tiger population, but look beyond the numbers” published in the Indian Express on 12th April 2023.
Syllabus: GS – 3: Environment and Bio-diversity Conservation.
Relevance: About tiger population.
News: Recently, the government released the 5th cycle of India’s Tiger Census. Based on the survey, the tiger population in India has grown from 1,411 in 1972 to 3,167 in 2022.
What are the key findings of India’s tiger census?
| Read here: India is home to 75% of global tigers; count rises above 3,000 |
What are the government initiatives that led to an increase in the tiger population?
| Read here: Increasing tiger population in India and government initiatives – Explained, pointwise |
What are the challenges India faces with the increased tiger population?
| Read here: Burning bright – India must balance conservation efforts with the rights of forest dwellers” |
What are the challenges highlighted in the tiger census?
These include a) There is a decline of the genetically unique varieties of the animal in Odisha and parts of Northeast India, b) Simlipal tiger is known for their unusually broad and fused stripe. But the numbers of the Simlipal tiger have been coming down steadily in the last decade. This is because the reserve in Odisha is unable to provide its tiger population with an adequate prey base, c) Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh has become one of the hotspots of human-tiger conflict — villagers in the vicinity of the reserve allegedly beat up tigers to death in 2019 and 2020 and d) Understaffed forest departments find themselves ill-equipped to deal with many challenges.
Overall, better protection and augmentation of prey in protected areas “could help increase the tiger population”.
