Tiger numbers roaring in India, up from 1,400 to 2,226

Tiger population in the country is estimated to be around 2,226, a rise of over 30 per cent since the last count in 2010, according to the latest census report released on Tuesday.

The total number of tigers were estimated to be around 1,706 in 2010. Tiger population had dipped to an alarming 1,411 in 2006 but has improved since then.

Releasing the country wide tiger assessment report for 2014, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar termed it as a “success story” and noted that while the tiger population is falling in the world, it is rising in India.

“Most of the tigers in the world are presently in India. 70 per cent of the world’s tigers are now in India. We have the world’s best managed tiger reserves.

“When we last counted the tigers, it was 1,706. The latest estimation shows there are 2,226 tigers. We must be proud of our legacy. We have increased by 30 per cent from the last count. That is a huge success story,” Javadekar said.

He said that India has unique photographs of 80 per cent of tigers while stating that around 9,735 cameras were used in the estimation. He claimed that nowhere in the world, so many cameras have been used for such an exercise.

The report said that the total estimated population of tigers was somewhere around 1,945-2491 (2,226) as per 2014 report while as per the 2010 report, it was between 1,520-1909.

The third round of country level tiger assessment using the refined methodology of doubling sampling using camera traps has recorded an increase in tiger population.

“In 2006, the mid value of such a (once in four years) snap shot assessment using the same methodology was 1,411, in 2010 it was 1706 and now in 2014, it stands at 2,226. This is an increase of almost 30.5 per cent since the last estimate,” an official statement said.

Tiger population has increased in several states like Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerela, officials said.

Talking about human-animal conflict, the environment minister said that “proactive” steps will be taken in this regard.

“We must ensure animal-human conflict does not happen. We have proactively decided that we will create more grasslands and water storage in forest areas so that animals can live well,” he said.