Alarmingly, however, the tiger habitat has shrunk by 22 per cent, raising concerns among conservationists. "We have a mixed bag as the tiger numbers have increased from 1,411 to 1,636 (minus Sunderbans), but there is decrease in tiger occupancy, which shows that tiger corridors are under the biggest threat," Jairam said. He later added that even tourism activities in and around tiger reserves have reached levels detrimental to the well-being of the big cat. He stressed that to save the tigers there is a need to make local communities equal partners in the conservation process, and state governments too should be made stakeholders. "The tiger conservation movement should be larger than it has been," he said.
The Tiger Estimate 2010 was carried out by the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, along with government agencies and NGOs. The report pegs the tiger population at 353 in the Shivalik-Gangetic plains, an increase of 56 tigers; Central and Eastern Ghats at 601; Western Ghats at 534, up by 132; Brahmaputra flood plains, North-east hills at 148, up by 48; and the Suderbans population is pegged at 70. Experts involved in the census said these estimates are more accurate than the 2006 survey. This time around, camera traps and DNA tests were used.
The census was released at the International Tiger Conference in Delhi on March 28, a follow up of the 2010 St. Petersburg meet held in Russia. The conference is slated to discuss challenges, plans and priorities in implementing the Global Tiger Recovery Programme, which aims to double the wild tiger population by 2022. Read the full report here.
Source: Akash Bisht, Hard News Magazine, Delhi.
