The Royal Bengal Tiger or Indian Tiger (Panthera tigris) is a majestic being found only in 13 countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia,
Thailand, and Vietnam. The World Tiger Recovery Program estimates 2500 specimens to be alive, with the majority residing in India. The government census of 2016 reports to find 2,226 in India: 198 in Nepal, 106 in Bangladesh, and 103 tigers in Bhutan.
India has 2.5 percent of the world’s land, 8 per cent of its biodiversity, 16 per cent of human population but hosts 70 per cent of the world’s tiger population only. The Indian state of Madhya Pradesh alone has 526 tigers, the highest in India, followed by Karnataka with 524 and Uttarakhand with 442 tigers. The annual 4-year tiger census mentions India’s tiger population to be increasing. From 1,400 in 2014 to 2,967 in the year 2019.
Although the numbers seem rosy, the population and the condition of Indian tigers is worsening. A WWF India census reports the number of tigers in 2002 to be at 3,642, which is significantly higher than 2019. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international authority that periodically releases its Red List of Threatened Species. In its list, the Indian Tigers appear to have the danger of extinction.
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Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
The history behind many of India’s sanctuaries is that once they were all hunting areas of Indian maharajas and British officers. But under the Wildlife Protection Act (1972), many have been transferred into protected and designated areas to conserve India’s endangered species and biodiversity; the category includes wild animals, birds, and plants throughout the territory under the Indian government. Prior to the legislation of this act, India had in total 5 protected areas or National parks.
Once Parliament passed WPA 1972, the act empowered the government to take measures that will secure the survival of endangered species. All the species listed under its Schedule I are protected from killing, trade, poaching, and from hunting of all animals for game. The act also highlights severe punishment for committing such crime and assigns grim punishment for breaking the law.
Under the WPA 1972, the government of India launched its first-ever tiger conservation program named Project Tiger in 1973. The 3 main goals of Project Tiger were to eliminate the factors causing a plunge in the population, maintaining and repairing their habitats, and creating a viable tiger population.
The act also opened collaboration opportunities in tiger landscapes with WWF India, government forest departments, NGOs, and local bodies.
Under this act, India gained more than 100 National Parks, spanning across 15,600 square miles, out of which, more than 50 are dedicated lands for the protection of tigers. The sanctuaries span from Srivilliputhur in Tamil Nadu to Kamlang in Arunachal Pradesh. Press Trust of India (PTI) estimates Corbett to have 231 tigers, followed by Nagarhole and Bandipore reserves in Karnataka with 127 and 126 tigers, respectively, in 2018–2019.
The Global Tiger Forum (GTF) was formed in 1993 and is the only inter-governmental international body consisting of all Tiger Range countries. Through joint collaboration GTF aims to protect the tiger, its prey, and its habitat. In 2014, they launched the Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Program (ITHCP) that would spend €20 million between 6Tiger Range countries to help save tigers and their habitats. With its Global Tiger Recovery Program (GTRP), it plans to double the tiger population by 2022.
Challenges Encountered in Tiger Conservation
With many international and national efforts to protect tigers, there are many challenges and threats that hamper the progress of tiger conservation. Some of the main challenges are:
Poaching: Poaching remains the biggest and most immediate threat to tigers. It refers to the illegal method of hunting, taking game and trading endangered species. Such activities are carried with the goal to obtain meat, luxury, or decorative items and for gathering “cure” for diseases prescribed by Asian traditional medicine. Hunting tigers had been the prime factor for their sparse numbers in the 1930s.
Habitat Challenges: Tigers are predatory animals who need large territories to hunt. Traditionally, tigers have roamed all across the South-Asian continent. But since the 1940s, increased human development has caused many humans to enter into tiger territories. Infrastructure and developmental projects have taken over the land meant for tigers. This forces tigers to survive in small, scattered pockets with little to no option to prey.
Poor Vegetation: Many reserved forests and national parks heavily focus on their flagship species, while the whole ecosystem is not greatly observed. A study selected 25 tiger reserves and found that there was a 50 per cent decline in their vegetation after being declared as protected areas. The government usually counts forest cover, the area of land covered with forest. Whereas, vegetation refers to the quality of trees, its health and condition. Poor vegetation causes herbivores animals (antelopes and deers) difficulty to survive which indirectly affect the well-being of tigers as well.
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Conflict with Humans: With declining sources of prey and land, tigers have in many instances entered human settlements. By entering with the desire for food, they have attacked domestic animals and sometimes even humans. Many in an attempt for protection or retaliation have entered tiger habitats and killed the endangered species.
Tracking the Feline: It is often difficult to track the population of our wild tigers in their habitats. That is the main reason why tiger census varies depending on the report you have access to. Usually, the data is taken by the scat (or poop) found on forest trails. This is the most accessible way of taking a count and studying their health conditions. According to the study published in Ecology and Evolution, scientists could now also collect data from the shed hair. This is a huge achievement as hair is found in abundance as big cats mark their territory with it.
Interbreeding: The Indian tigers are known to have the most genetic variation out of all the other subspecies found on the continent. As discussed in the above points, with increased human activity and great loss of habitat, the tigers are forced together in small pockets. This increases their chance of interbreeding. One recent study found that out of the 65 tigers studied, some had lesser genetic variation than the other, signifying interbreeding.
The consequences of this new development are unknown. There is little information about the evolutionary and genetic history of Indian tigers. But its reasons for interbreeding and subsequent production of deviant cases with lesser genetic variations are clear. Increased human signatures along with small territories are bringing the tigers together into small spaces.
Tigers are India’s cultural and national identity. The “Status of Tigers, Co-predators and Prey in India (2018)” showcases 3tiger reserves where not one tiger is left. We cannot let the tigers go extinct. Their extinction could collapse the entire system. It is our duty to protect this endangered species by ensuring that we maintain and enhance the tiger protected areas and other tiger trails. By creating a human-less and an abundant prey filled environment, we would ensure the survival of India’s heritage.
