Friday, 17 May, 2024
By: Yash Gupte
The PM expressed happiness that India is home to 75 percent of the world’s tiger population in the 75th year of Indian independence. Image Source: IANS
After spending the morning at Bandipur tiger reserve, PM Modi released the latest tiger census data and said that India’s tiger population rose by 200 in the past four years to reach 3,167 in 2022.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, April 9, 2023 visited the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka for a 20-km safari as part of programmes to mark the completion of the 50th anniversary of Project Tiger. The Prime Minister left the Melukamanahalli helipad after landing and travelled by road to the Forest Department's reception center in Bandipur. There, he paid his tributes at a nearby memorial for forest martyrs before boarding the department's jeep for a safari. On his twitter page, Modi posted images from his safari trip, in which he is seen standing in the open jeep holding a camera and binoculars. He also shared images of bisons, langurs, spotted deer, and elephants.
The majority of the forest areas of the former Venugopala Wildlife Park, which was established pursuant to a government notification dated February 19, 1941, were included to create the National Park, which was subsequently expanded in 1985 and given the name Venugopala National Park. He also visited the Theppakadu Elephant camp in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve where he interacted with mahouts and kavadis and also fed the elephants. The Prime Minister also interacted with elephant keepers featured in the Oscar-winning documentary, The Elephant Whisperers.
After spending the morning at Bandipur tiger reserve, PM Modi released the latest tiger census data and said that India’s tiger population rose by 200 in the past four years to reach 3,167 in 2022. He inaugurated the program ‘Commemoration of 50 years of Project Tiger’ at Mysuru University in Mysuru, Karnataka. The Prime Minister also launched the International Big Cats Alliance (IBCA). He declared tiger numbers and released the summary report of All India Tiger Estimation (5th cycle). He also released a commemorative coin on the completion of 50 years of Project Tiger. The PM expressed happiness that India is home to 75 percent of the world’s tiger population in the 75th year of Indian independence.
“The focus of the International big cat alliance will be on the conservation of the world's 7 major big cats including tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, puma, jaguar and cheetah”, the Prime Minister remarked and explained that countries that are home to these cats will be a part of this alliance. He further elaborated that the member countries will be able to share their experiences, help their fellow country more quickly, and lay emphasis on research, training and capacity building.
India’ Big Cat Count
PM Modi 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 thirty thousand elephants, and also the largest single-horn rhino country with a population of nearly three thousand. He said "India has not only saved tigers but created an ecosystem for them to flourish. The success of 'Project Tiger' is a matter of pride not only for India, but for the whole world."
Qamar Qureshi, Scientist at the Wildlife Institute of India, involved in the census exercise, said, “We’ve found 3,080 unique tigers in camera traps this time. In the last census, it was 2,603. However, for the latest census, we haven’t finished computing the estimates of tigers outside such traps as well as the State-wise break-up of tigers, so the numbers may differ. We expect it to be done within three months.” This also indicates that there would be more tiger in India. The number of tiger reserves have increased since 1973, when Project Tiger was launched, growing from nine reserves covering 18,278 square km to 53 reserves encompassing 75,796 square km, or nearly 2.3 percent of India's total area.
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. He added, “The presence of big cats has made a positive impact on the lives and ecology of the local people everywhere.”
The Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Flood Plains have seen the largest increases in tiger populations, followed by central India, north eastern hills, the Brahmaputra Flood Plains, and the Sundarbans. There was a decrease in the Western Ghats numbers, though “major populations” were said to be stable.
