Tigers have been featured extensively in Indian art. Is tiger endangered? Yes, tigers in the wild are facing severe threats. There has been steep decline in the tiger population all across the world. At the beginning of the last century, it is believed that worldwide, there were possibly many thousands of tigers in the wild with about a few thousands of those in India.
The decline in the tiger population in India can be attributed to many factors. The major reason is the growth in human population. Since independence large chunks of prime tiger habitats have been lost forever to agriculture and developmental activities.
In India till the middle of the last century, people killed tigers in the name of sport. Tiger hunting was officially banned only after the enactment of the Wildlife Protection Act in Today, increasing biotic disturbances, uncontrolled poaching of prey, urbanization, mining and quarrying; and poaching of tiger for its body parts gravely threaten the future of the tiger.
Bones and other body parts of the tigers are used in Traditional Chinese Medicines TCM and their skins are used for making Chubas the traditional robe worn by the Tibetans. It is this illegal market for tiger skins and parts in China and Tibet that remains as one of the most serious threat to wild tiger populations in India.
Poaching of tiger for its body parts gravely threaten its future. What are the Indian and international laws that protect tigers?
Any person who commits such an offence is punishable with an imprisonment of not less than three years extending up to seven years along with a fine of not less than fifty thousand rupees which may extend up to two lakh rupees.
In the event of a second or subsequent conviction he can receive imprisonment for a term of not less than seven years and a fine which shall be not less than five lakh rupees and can vary up to a maximum of fifty lakh rupees The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CITES presently ratified by over countries, makes international trade in tiger parts illegal.
India has been a signatory of this convention since the year Who are the major stakeholders in tiger conservation in India today? What are the methods to estimate tiger populations? It is conducted at regular intervals to know the current tiger populations and population trends.
Besides estimating the number of tigers the method also helps to gather information on the density of the tiger populations and associated prey. Many different methods are used to estimate the number of tigers. In this method the imprints of the pugmark of the tiger were recorded and used as a basis for identification of individuals.
Now it is largely used as one of the indices of tiger occurrence and relative abundance. Recent methods used to estimate the numbers of tigers are camera trapping and DNA finger-printing. In camera trapping, the photograph of the tiger is taken and individuals are differentiated on the basis of the stripes on the body. In the latest technique of DNA fingerprinting, tigers can be identified from their scats.
Pugmark Census Technique was a commonly used technique to estimate tiger numbers. What is the nature of Human-Wildlife conflict in India? For centuries humans and wild animals have co-existed in India. This is mainly because the human populations were much lower and the forest areas were large. However, over the past few decades, the human population has grown manifold, thereby creating great pressure on forest resources. Large areas on which the forests were vast and undisturbed have given way to human habitations and settlements.
Some are using camera traps to warn villagers when tigers are in their vicinity. Their efforts are urgent because the death toll is rising. Across central India, villagers have killed 21 tigers through electrocution, traps or poisoning since In Chandrapur alone, tigers have killed 24 people in the past 4 years.
Tigers often attack people from behind, so a honey collector in the Sundarbans wears a mask on the back of his head to ward off trouble. In June, the forest department captured the tiger E1 and moved her to a wildlife rehabilitation centre, making her the ninth individual to be relocated since Much like the animals they study, tiger scientists are fiercely territorial. Everyone except Karanth at the Centre for Wildlife Studies requested anonymity while speaking about politics because it could hinder their ability to do research.
Several scientists say there is a conflict of interest because government managers fund and oversee science as well as set policies regarding reserves. Karanth says managers grant research permits more easily to scientists from the government-run WII than to independent scientists, unless the latter join government-led studies as junior partners. Independent observers also charge that government scientists sometimes rubber stamp government actions, whether or not they are scientifically sound.
An example is the NH44 road project: although the WII initially recommended much larger overpasses to the government, it reworked its assessment to reduce costs and make it more palatable under pressure from government officials, according to a government report. Most independent field initiatives have shut down, says Karanth.
His year-long study of tigers in southern India ended in because the local forest officials had been repeatedly interrupting or delaying his work — for example, by not allowing his assistants access to field sites. The union and state government officials ignored his complaints. Government officials and researchers challenge those criticisms. Nitin Kakodkar, who is the chief wildlife warden of Maharashtra and signs off on research permits in his state, disagrees that WII scientists are favoured or that the managers influence research.
WII scientists, he says, are more knowledgeable about the permit requirement procedures than are independent scientists. And he contends that there is no favouritism in Maharashtra. Jhala of the WII says his team finds it easier to get permits because they work for the government, but not by much. The bureaucracy is difficult even for WII scientists, he says. The government maintains a tight grip because the tiger is a symbol of national pride, researchers say. That exalted status — and rising revenues from the tourism industry around tiger safaris and luxury resorts — might be what eventually saves the tiger from extinction.
The Indian government has plans to expand tiger conservation. For example, India is going to increase the number of tiger reserves in coming years, says Nayak. Hers was one of 17 village cattle killed by the animal. I asked her whether she was angry. She put her palms together, laughed and shook her head. Her son glanced hesitantly at the forest-department guard, who was standing nearby.
Then he gathered up courage and said what other villagers had been demanding — that there needs to a more permanent solution. Mondol, S. PLoS Genet. PubMed Article Google Scholar. Gopalaswamy, A. Methods Ecol. Article Google Scholar. Qureshi, Q.
PeerJ 7 , e Thatte, P. Armstrong, E. Kerley, L. Download references. Research Highlight 10 NOV News 05 NOV Research Highlight 27 OCT Editorial 26 OCT News 30 SEP Zhejiang University School of Medicine. Francis Crick Institute. Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.
India's tiger killings: A success story gone wrong? Hunting for India's deadliest man-eating tiger. Image source, AFP. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. View original tweet on Twitter. Image source, Getty Images. India has seen an uptick in tiger numbers since Can Calvin Klein scent catch a 'killer'?
Asked if India is doing enough to cooperate with neighboring countries to preserve tigers since the animal does not know borders, Karanth said this largest wild cat has been wiped out on both sides of the border along, more so along the China-Myanmar region.
About increasing man-animal conflict, Karanth said "a few well-protected tiger habitats are producing surplus tigers" which are dispersing away and coming into conflict with humans.
If not, local hostility will be unmanageable," he said. Commenting on India's success, as a signatory of St. In the census the number was 4, and in it was deliberately brought down to 1, so that officials can play these games. The real number is most likely to have been around 3, for the past two decades.
Use of poor methods and hiding the data from independent scrutiny are how things are being done," he said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had claimed that the country has completed this target of doubling the tiger population in , four years ahead of the deadline.
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