Tigers Increase in India

As readers of PNG know, 2010 was the "Year of the Tiger" {21.01.12} so range states like India have been planning and implementing actions to double their tiger (Panthera tigris) populations by 2022, the next Year of the Tiger. The latest census show that the tiger population has rebounded during the last four years, increasing more than 30%, to 2,226. India is the land of the tiger with 70% of the world's population living there midst a burgeoning human population. The reported increase comes after a decade of effort to reduce poaching and mitigate its effects. In 2005 India reported that all twenty-two tigers in a Rajasthan preserve were killed. The next year the entire country's tiger population plummeted to just 1,411. India once was home to tens of thousands of wild tigers, with the first tigers arriving from the north around 16,000-12,000 BCE. According to historian Mahesh Rangarajan, "80,000 tigers were slaughtered in 50 years from 1875 to 1925. It is possible that this was only a fraction of the numbers actually slain." To compare their current status in India, it is instructive to note the United States has an estimated 5,000 tigers living in captivity.

Just how accurate the new count is and not just wishful thinking on the part of Indian wildlife authorities is a legitimate question. Official corruption plays are large role in the world-wide illegal wildlife trade. Tiger parts and pelts are still in high demand in Asia. Indian officials say the latest techniques and equipment were used to compile the most accurate count possible. The assessment methodology was the same as that used in 2006 and 2010. Ten thousand camera traps were positioned and transcets walked in which scats were located and analysed for DNA matches. A specialized software program identified photos of individual tigers based on their unique fur patterns. Over 350,000 km² were surveyed and 1540 unique tiger photos captured. After three cycles of nation-wide assessment, India wildlife officials say it is clear that tigers respond well to human preservation efforts.

Their future in India depends upon maintaining inviolate core habitats (tiger kingdoms) for breeding purposes, preserving connected high quality habitat, and strengthening legal protections of tigers and their prey animals. A noted tiger conservationist in India said the government has a long way to go in preventing poaching. The government has offered payments to tribal groups to move out of tiger preserves, paying about $16,260 per family to move. If preserves and corridors are defended from human encroachment and poaching suppressed effectively, tigers could increase by another 1500 over the next two decades, allowing India to reach its Year of the Tiger goal.