Project Tiger: On completion of 50 years of Project Tiger, there has been a debate that how many tigers can India rear? Now experts are divided on this matter. Read Nivedita Khandekar's report.
On completion of 50 years of Project Tiger, there has been a debate that how many tigers can India rear? On April 9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referring to this achievement, said that there are 3,167 tigers in Indian forests. This is the biggest figure since Project Tiger was launched in 1973. Although the 'Amrit Kaal's Tiger Vision' document celebrates a period of 25 years for tiger conservation, it makes no mention of tiger population targets.
Now experts are divided on the fact that Indian forests have so much potential that a large number of tigers can be reared here. Know why experts are divided regarding the future of tiger population.
How many challenges in India?
In the condition of Indian forests, experts are not unanimous about the future population of tigers. Sajid Sultan, Assistant Inspector General of NTPCA, says, there are many factors that decide whether the tiger will survive or not. Such as hunting, the condition of their living place and availability of water.
Talking about normal conditions, a male tiger needs an area of 100 square kilometers and a female needs 75 square kilometers. If there are no hunting conditions at that place, then they need a large area so that they can search for food.
How should forests be for tigers?
A population habitat viability analysis by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) says a population of 80-100 tigers requires an area of 800-1200 sq km, with at least 20 breeding females.
Dr. Rajesh Gopal, former secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, says that we are very close to the ecological carrying capacity, and I have no hesitation in saying that the maximum we can expect is 800 to 1000. So let's say not more than 4000.
Ullas Karanth, former director of the Center for Wildlife Studies, says that about 10,000 to 15,000 tigers can survive in India. Well protected tiger habitat should have 10-15 tigers per 100 sq km. Government forests meant for tiger populations cover more than 3,80,000 sq km, but only a small fraction is truly protected in a few reserves.
He says, if on an average we can keep 5 tigers per square kilometer, then in an area of 3,00,000 square km we can have 15,000 tigers and in 2,00,000 square km we can have 10,000 tigers. Roughly this is the potential capacity of keeping tigers.
When did Project Tiger start?
Project Tiger was started on April 1, 1973. It includes protected parts of 9 states of India and was named Tiger Reserves. The population of tigers in India was 1,827 in 1972, which increased to more than 4,300 in 1989. However, hunting continued unabated and in 2002 their number started reaching 3511. In 2006 the figure reached 1411.
In view of the declining population of tigers, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was formed in 2005. After more than a decade, their number increased to 2,967 in 2018. Recent figures say that in 2022 their figure has reached 3,167.
Presently the tiger coverage in India is 75,796.83 sq km, which is 2.3% of the country's geographical area. Of this, 41,499.37 sq km is the core area (with the status of a national park or wildlife sanctuary) and 34,297.46 sq km is the buffer area.
What does the report say?
The Tiger Estimation Report 2022 has shown that there has been a significant increase in tiger population in the Shivalik and Gangetic plains, followed by central India, the northeastern hills and the Brahmaputra flood plains and the Sundarbans. At the same time, there has been a decrease in the number of tigers in the Western Ghats. Local tiger populations have become extinct in many areas of central India such as Sri Venkateswara National Park and Kawal, Satkosia and Sahyadri Tiger Reserves.
The report states that Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh require serious conservation to save tiger populations. The small and genetically unique population of tigers in Simli Pal (Odisha) is a priority for conservation. According to the report, the population of tigers has decreased in the entire Western Ghats except in some areas like Anshi Dandeli Reserve in Karnataka.
The current tiger reserve, says Karanth, is spread over only 75,000 sq km and only half the area is protected to some extent. There are no tigers in many tiger reserves. Less than half of tiger reserves are at 'saturation density', which is more than 10 tigers per 100 sq km.
States like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and to a lesser extent Telangana, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh have borne the brunt of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) for more than two decades. Now that it is decreasing, experts expect that the number of tigers will increase. Also, some dense human population is also being seen in these tiger areas.
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