extinct by the turn of the century, but, whoever may be responsible, the

tiger has proudly proved them wrong. Tiger population may not still be
in thrilling numbers and poaching still may be quite rampant but a lot
more effort is being put into saving this beautiful animal. This is good
SAVE THE TIGER…….
news for the entire natural treasure of the country because if the tiger
flourishes, so will the jungle and vice-versa.

Project Tiger was incorporated in

1973 with nine tiger reserves Tigers : The Present
covering an area of 16,339 sq.km., The striped cats are facing a steady decline in their population from
which has increased to 37,761 around 40,000 at the turn of last century, the number stands at 1411
today. If this continues to be the way things turn, then in a decade,
sq.km. in 27 Tiger Reserves. The
tigers would soon be an extinct animal in India. Our children would only
budgetary provision of the be able to see its pictures in classroom books and encyclopaedias only.
Government of India during 1973 Tigers would be reduced to one amongst the several animals which
was only Rs. 23 million, which has could not survive the greed of human nature. Is this what we are
increased to 230 million during looking forward to? Is this the future that we want to present to our
2000-2001. next generation?
In 1972, a year before Project Tiger began there were 1,827 tigers in
In the beginning of the 1970s, once tiger hunting had officially been
India. In 1997 the Tiger Census showed that there were 3,507 tigers.
banned in India, a tiger count was done across the entire country. This
And in 2006 the official estimate of the number of tigers is 1,411 only.
lead to the astonishing discovery that only 1800 specimens of this While 1411 is a rough estimate of the number of tigers, based on
magnificent animal were left. This jolted the concerned authorities and calculations and statistics found by the All India Tiger estimation team
some serious thought went into devising plans to save the tiger. The in 2008, these numbers are nonetheless shocking and frightening. The
result was the launch of "Project Tiger" in 1972 at the Dhikala Forest lower and upper limits of the tigerpopulation are   being 1,165 and
1,657 respectively, with 14111 being the middle value.
Rest House in Corbett National Park. The main idea behind the project
was to provide safe havens for tigers where they could flourish as a
Today there are 28 tiger reserves in the country spread across 17 states.
species and hopefully reverse the startling decline in their population. Central India once best habitat for tigers has noted sharp decline as per
The project initially had 9 parks that were chosen for it's latest reports. New methodology for counting tigers was introduced in
implementation. This number has slowly risen and a total of 19 parks 2006 using camera traps. The findings are based on spatial occupancy
are now attached to the project. The project was begun in association of tigers and sampling such forests using camera traps in a statistical
with and still receives its main funding from the WWF. framework, which are not comparable to the earlier total count using
pugmarks. As per last census in 2002 tigers were estimated to be 3500.
Although the experts affirm that the project has its shortcomings, the
After poaching outbreak in Sariska all tigers were wiped out here.
increase in the populations of the tiger is clearly evident to even the
common man. Many experts had predicted that the tiger would be
Census of the reserves

Madhya Pradesh-2002 – 710

2006 – 300
Orissa-2002 – 173
2006 – 45
Maharashtra-2002 – 238
2006 - 103
Andhra Pradesh-2002 - 192
2006 – 95
Chattisgarh-2002 – 227, 2006-26

CAN TOURISM SAVE INDIAN TIGERS??

Current efforts to save Indians dwindling tiger populations are failing.

But carefully managed tourism could offer this regal predator its best
chance of survival, argues JULIAN MATTHEWS, chairman of the travel
operators for tiger campaign……

First, tourism offers an informal monitoring and anti-poaching

programme through passive viewing by visitors .

Second, it has a significant impact on the perceived status of a park and

its ability to attract local, governmental or international funding.

Third, it enhances the motivation and quality of a parks rangers and

management. And finally, wildlife tourism creates perceived ‘economic
zones’ , where forests and their wildlife are valued as living ecosystems
rather than a firewood, bushmeat or agricultural land.

The last point is particularly important village communities must see

the benefits of conservation, as trying land up in national parks means
that they can no longer use the land themselves, whether by harvesting
forest products or using it for livestock farming.