Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday released the fifth cycle of India’s Tiger Census revealing that India now has 3,167 tigers out in the wild.
There has been an increase in the number since the last census. This figure is till 2022 and there has been a 6.7 percent rise since the last census carried out in 2018.
Till 2018, India had 2,967 tigers. Two hundred tigers have been added since.
During the last Census, 741 tigers were added in four years, as the total count went up to 2,967 from 2,226 in 2014. These 741 tigers were aged more than one year and it was an increase of 33%, in four years.
The Prime Minister released the figures of this year’s Tiger Census while inaugurating the International Big Cat Alliance in Karnataka’s Mysore.
The three-day conference will focus on the protection and conservation of seven major big cats of the world – tigers, lions, leopards, snow leopards, pumas, jaguars and cheetahs.
Noting India’s unique achievements in wildlife conservation, the Prime Minister said, “India is a country where protecting nature is a part of the culture”.
He mentioned that India has only 2.4 percent of the world’s land area but it contributes toward 8 percent to known global biodiversity. He stated that India is the largest tiger range country in the world, the largest Asiatic elephant range country in the world with nearly 30,000 elephants, and also the largest single-horn rhino country with a population of almost 3,000.
He added that India is the only country in the world to have Asiatic lions and its population has increased from around 525 in 2015 to around 675 in 2020. He also touched upon India’s leopard population and stated that it increased by over 60 percent in 4 years.
The Prime Minister reiterated that the success of Project Tiger has many dimensions and it has led to an increase in tourist activity, awareness programs, and a reduction in Man-Animal conflicts in Tiger Reserves. “The presence of big cats has made a positive impact on the lives and ecology of the local people everywhere”, PM Modi added.
Before launching the conference, PM Modi visited the Bandipur Tiger Reserve as well as the Theppakadu Elephant Camp in Madumalai Tiger Reserve, now made famous by the Oscar-winning documentary “The Elephant Whisperers”.
