It is difficult to visualize India without tigers. It will be like imagining an inky black sky without stars: – John Seidensticker.

֍ It is estimated that India had about 40 000 tigers in 1900, and the number declined to a mere about 1800 in 1972. This was mostly the result of habitat loss, hunting and other biotic disturbances .

֍ This prompted the Government of India, to embark on an ambitious and a far-sighted conservation program in the country known as Project Tiger, in the year 1973.

֍ The project began with 9 tiger reserves covering 18,600 sq.km of land area.

֍ Now we have 55 tiger reserves in 18 states which covers an area of more than 75000 sq.km, which is about 2.3 per cent of the total land area of India.

֍ Project Tiger has been the largest species conservation initiative of its kind in the world.

֍ At present India hosts 70% of the world’s tigers.

Objectives of Project Tiger

֍ The objective of this project was not only to save the tiger but to save the entire ecosystem with its biodiversity where the tiger lives.

֍ To ensure maintenance of available population of Tigers in India for scientific, economic, aesthetic, cultural and ecological value

֍ To preserve, for all times, the areas of such biological importance as a national heritage for the benefit, education and enjoyment of the people

What are Tiger Reserves?

Tiger reserves are areas that are notified for the protection of the tiger and its prey, and are governed by Project Tiger.

Who notifies an area as a Tiger Reserve?

The State Government shall, on recommendation of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, notify an area as a tiger reserve.

What does a Tiger Reserve includes?

A Tiger reserve includes: (a) Core zone and (b) Buffer zone

(a) Core zone

These areas are required to be kept as inviolate for the purposes of tiger conservation, without affecting the rights of the Scheduled Tribes or such other forest dwellers.

(b) Buffer zone

Peripheral area to critical tiger habitat or core area, where a lesser degree of habitat protection is required
to ensure the integrity of the critical tiger habitat with adequate dispersal for tiger species.

On whose recommendation the boundaries of a tiger reserve can be altered?

No alteration in the boundaries of a tiger reserve shall be made except on a recommendation of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the approval of the National Board for Wild Life.

On whose recommendation a tiger reserve can be de-notified?

No State Government shall de-notify a tiger reserve, except in public interest with the approval of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the approval of the National Board for Wild Life.

TIGER RESERVES OF INDIA

State wise distribution of Tiger Reserves is as follows:

Andhra Pradesh – Nagarjunsagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve

Arunachal Pradesh – 1. Kamlang Tiger Reserve 2. Namdapha Tiger Reserve 3. Pakke Tiger Reserve

Assam – 1. Kaziranga Tiger Reserve 2. Manas Tiger Reserve 3. Nameri Tiger Reserve 4. Orang Tiger Reserve

Bihar – Valmiki Tiger Reserve

Chhattisgarh – 1. Achanakmar Tiger Reserve 2. Indravati Tiger Reserve 3. Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve

Jharkhand – Palamau Tiger Reserve

Karnataka – 1. Bandipur Tiger Reserve 2. Bhadra Tiger Reserve 3. Biligiri Ranganatha Temple Tiger Reserve 4. Dandeli-Anshi (Kali) Tiger Reserve 5. Nagarahole Tiger Reserve

Kerala – 1. Parambikulam Tiger Reserve 2. Periyar Tiger Reserve

Madhya Pradesh – 1. Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve 2. Kanha Tiger Reserve 3. Panna Tiger Reserve

4. Pench Tiger Reserve 5. Sanjay-Dubri Tiger Reserve 6. Satpura Tiger Reserve

Maharashtra – 1. Bor Tiger Reserve 2. Melghat Tiger Reserve 3. Nawegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve 4.

Pench Tiger Reserve 5. Sahyadri Tiger Reserve 6. Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve

Mizoram – Dampa Tiger Reserve

Odisha – 1. Satkosia Tiger Reserve 2. Similipal Tiger Reserve

Rajasthan – 1. Mukandra Hills Tiger Reserve 2. Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve 3. Ranthambore Tiger Reserve 4. Sariska Tiger Reserve 5. Dholpur – Karauli Tiger Reserve

Tamil Nadu – 1. Anamalai Tiger Reserve 2. Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve 3. Mudumalai Tiger Reserve 4. Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve 5. Srivilliputhur Megamalai Tiger Reserve

Telangana – 1. Amrabad Tiger Reserve 2. Kawal Tiger Reserve

Uttar Pradesh – 1. Dudhwa Tiger Reserve 2. Pilibhit Tiger Reserve 3. Ranipur Tiger Reserve 4. Amanagarh buffer

Uttarakhand – 1. Corbett Tiger Reserve 2. Rajaji Tiger Reserve

West Bengal – 1. Buxa Tiger Reserve 2. Sunderbans Tiger Reserve

Estimation of tiger numbers

֍ The problem we had in India was the estimation of tiger numbers which was initially done by the dubious pugmark method which once even gave an estimate of over 4000 tigers for the country. This false count made the tiger management officials extremely happy and they were about to declare that Project Tiger was a great success story in conservation.

֍ However, the total extinction of tiger in Sariska Tiger Reserve in 2003-2004 was a great blow to this jubilation. Panna Tiger Reserve also gave a shock to the conservation community as during the same period, tigers there became either rare or extinct.

֍ This shocking revelation forced the Government to form the Tiger Task Force.

֍ Project Tiger was converted into a statutory authority (NTCA) by providing enabling provisions in the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 through an amendment, viz. Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2006.

֍ Project Tiger metamorphosed into the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and a significant amount of funding became available .https://ntca.gov.in/about-us/#ntca

֍ The Tiger Task Force trashed the pugmark method and Wildlife Institute of India was given the task of estimating the tiger number and quantify other related parameters using scientific methods.

֍ Faculty in Wildlife Institute of India estimated tiger numbers by photographic capture and recapture sampling and corresponding prey abundance was estimated using distance sampling.

֍ In areas where camera traps were not placed, occupancy sampling of tiger signs was carried out and based on the information quantified tiger number for such areas were extrapolated. Following the above
methods tiger population estimation was carried out every four years.

Tiger population on rise

֍ The results revealed that in 2006 India had about 1411 tigers, 1706 tigers in 2010 , 2226 tigers in 2014 and 2967 tigers in 2018.

֍ The tiger population in India grew by 200 from 2018 to 2022, according to the fifth cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation (2022) released April 9, 2023. The number of tigers in India was 3,167 in 2022, up from 2,967 in 2018.

The latest tiger numbers as mentioned in the “Status of Tigers: Co-Predators & Prey in India-2022” report is 3682 tigers.

֍ The highest number (1,161) of tigers were photographed in the Central Indian Highlands and Eastern Ghats in 2022.

֍ One should admit that enormous and appreciable efforts have gone to achieve this.

How Madhya Pradesh has become a leader in tiger coservation?

֍ The major reason for the success of conservation in Madhya Pradesh is the appointment of a series of dedicated and trained officers in the reserves and the willingness of the Government to allow them to serve in a particular protected area for many years.

֍ Moreover though widely separated from one another, connected in most cases by very fragile corridors, the tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh are fairly large, of the six, five are above 1500 sq.km in area.

֍ Along with this the admirable management efforts carried out in Madhya Pradesh are:

• Reintroduction of tiger in Panna Tiger Reserve where it became nearly extinct

• Rewilding of orphaned tiger cubs, restoration of gaur in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve.

• Large scale translocation of chital from high density to low density areas practiced in many of their protected areas .

• Barasingha has also been reintroduced in Bori part of Satpura Tiger Reserve.

How Project Tiger can be set as an example for the world?

֍ Urgent attention and preparedness to deal with negative human-tiger interactions.

֍ Better protection and augmentation of prey in protected areas like Nameri, Buxa, Namdapha and Kamlang could help in the increase of the tiger population.

֍ The northeastern hill tiger populations are genetically unique and should be the top priority of conservation action in the country due to their low population size and genetically unique lineage.

֍ Conservation planning and execution is needed to ensure ecologically viable economic development.

֍ Trans-boundary cooperation and knowledge sharing between India and Bangladesh to maintain ecological integrity of the landscape of Sundarbans.

֍ Greater attention to control poaching.

Must read : Tiger – Indian Efforts to Conserve the Big Cat https://fotisedu.com/tiger-indian-efforts-to-conserve-the-big-cat/

Tiger – Global Efforts to Conserve Big Cat https://fotisedu.com/tiger-global-efforts-to-conserve-big-cat/

PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUES 1. Consider the following protected areas: UPSC 2012

1 . Bandipur

2 . Bhitarkanika

3 . Manas

4 . Sunderbans

Which of the above are declared Tiger Reserves?

(a) 1, 3 and 2 only

(b) 1, 3 and 4 only

(c) 2, 3 and 4 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Show Answer

QUES 2 . Among the following Tiger Reserves, which one has the largest area under “Critical Tiger Habitat”? UPSC 2020

(a) Corbett

(b) Ranthambore

(c) Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam

(d) Sunderbans

Show Answer

QUES 3 . With regard to ‘Project Tiger’, which one of the following statements is not correct? CDS 2017

(a) It was launched in India in the year 1973.

(b) The objective of the Project is to preserve the habitats and tigers therein as natural heritage.

(c) Project Tiger` emphasized to ensure viable population of tigers in India.

(d) There are no Tiger Reserves in the northeastern part of India.

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QUES 4 . Which one of the following tiger reserves of India has Bhoorsingh the Barasingha as its official mascot? CAPF 2017

(a) Nameri tiger reserve

(b) Ranthambhore tiger reserve

(c) Panna tiger reserve

(d) Kanha tiger reserve

Show Answer