50 Years of Project Tiger [UPSC Current Affairs]

The tiger population “part report” was published to mark the 50th anniversary of Project Tiger in April 2023. In this article, you can read more on the latest tiger conservation efforts in India and their status. This topic is relevant for the IAS exam environment and ecology segment.

Project Tiger 50th Anniversary

Project Tiger was launched in 1973 by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi after tiger numbers became worryingly low in the country.

• Project Tiger has been the largest species conservation initiative of its kind in the world. The field implementation of the project, protection and management in the designated reserves is done by the project States.
• Project Tiger has been converted into a statutory authority (NTCA) by providing enabling provisions in the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 through an amendment, viz. Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2006.

Read more on Project Tiger in the linked article.

Tiger Numbers in India – Current Status

• The all-India tiger estimation conducted in 2022 estimates that the number of tigers in India is 3,167 individuals.
• India’s tiger population increased by 200 in the last four years. The growth, however, slowed to 6.7 per cent in these four years from around 33 per cent during 2014-2018. 
• The tiger census covered forested habitats in 20 states of India. 
• The Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Plains saw a significant increase in the tiger population. As many as 804 individuals were photographed in the landscape spanning several states that includes five important tiger reserves and several other protected areas.
• According to the 2022 report, the tiger population has increased substantially in the Shivalik and Gangetic flood plains in the north followed by central India, where tigers have entered new areas in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
• The highest number of tigers were photographed in central and eastern India i.e 1161. 
• India is divided into five zones for the survey – Gangetic Plains, Central India and Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats, North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra Flood Plains, and Sundarbans. 

Read a comprehensive article on tiger conservation in India in the linked article.

Tiger Counting Techniques

• Every tiger has a unique and individual footprint like human fingerprints.
  • It helps in tracking. Rangers would trace the joint marks off the foot and trace it on butter paper to draw and record the footprint with the idea of using it to track that particular tiger in the future.
• Forest staff turned to the capture-mark-and-recapture method, which is largely used to estimate the population based on a sample.
  • The basic idea is to capture a small number of tigers, place a harmless mark on them, and release them back into the population. At a later date, you catch another small group and record how many have a mark.
• Tiger reserves and national parks use the camera trap method to estimate the tiger population by photographing the tigers across the length and breadth of the parks. Camera trapping methodology involves photographing individual tigers who are uniquely identifiable by their stripe patterns.

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