ROARING

INDIA'S TIGER POPULATION GROWS BY 30% OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS

As per the latest tiger census carried out by the government in association with several wildlife organizations, India is home to 2,226 wild tigers, a jump of 30 percent from the last survey that was concluded in 2010. With the numbers of the magnificent stripped felines being reduced to 1,411 way back in 2008, the rise in the figures is in many ways a testimonial to the sustained efforts of conservationists, tiger experts, government officials and wildlife enthusiasts in the last few years. However, a lion share of credit goes to the security guards who put their own lives at risk to protect our national animals from hunters and poachers. The best part is that the results of the census are fool-proof since the whole exercise has been conducted with some of the most modern methods like camera trapping and collection of paw marks and droppings.

Courtesy: Trade Wallpaper (Link)

Some of the biggest positives from this survey are as follows:

• India is home to nearly 70 percent of the world's wild tiger population. Other nations with significant feline numbers include Bangladesh, Malaysia, Russia and Indonesia.

• In the country, Karnataka leads other states with a tiger population in excess of 400, followed by Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Most importantly, the national animal has been spotted in over 20 Indian states, showing that the favorable habitat for these beasts is found across the country.

• In another study entitled 'Economic Valuation of Tiger Reserves', researchers have found that six tiger reserves - Corbett, Kanha, Kaziranga, Periyar, Ranthambore and Sundarbans contribute a staggering Rs 1,49,000 crores to the Indian economy. This first of its kind survey, will hopeful help people realize the benefits of saving our forests and the creatures that inhabit them.

• More importantly, as per the reports, India can add up to 1,500 more tigers to the existing numbers. This is perhaps the most important take away from the entire exercise and should be a source of inspiration for people involved in tiger conservation to keep up their good work.

• Lastly, speaking at the press conference, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said that his government was open to give a few of the big cats to the countries that want to revive their tiger numbers. This, in my opinion is excellent news since it is our moral duty to do our bit in helping the stripped felines survive, keeping politics away from such a noble cause. Of course, before doing that, we need to make sure that the countries that we are sending our tigers are in a position to protect them.

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At the same time, we cannot afford to drop our guard, the reasons being as follows:

• As per the census, India lost 83 tigers to poachers in the last four years. Besides, another 109 feline deaths were termed as 'unexplained'. This clearly shows that there is still a lot we can do in saving our big cats.

• We still do not have the green corridors connecting major tiger reserves in the country that are crucial in maintaining the gene pool by preventing inbreeding amongst closely related individuals. This task of setting up forests that connect big cat habitat should be taken up with utmost priority.

• Lastly, the numbers of Black Tiger - a sub-species of Bengal Tigers with much darker black stripes has come down from 32 in 2010 to 28 now. These felines are only found in Simlipal and Santakosia reserves in Odisha.

GERMANY SHOWS THE WAY

IT DONATED EUR 20 MILLION FOR TIGER CONVERSATION

Courtesy: WWF-India

European power house Germany has shown the way for wildlife conversation by donating a whopping 20 million Euros for the cause of conversation of Tigers. The funds were given to the five year Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Programme - a scheme run by the International Union of Nature Conversation (IUCN) via the KfW Development Bank. The money will go to the protection of the stripped cats in their wild habitat in countries which were present at the St. Petersberg Tiger Summit in 2010. These include Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal and Viet Nam; with our country accounting for more than half of the population of the largest felines, it is expected that a huge chunk of this amount will come here. The major objectives of the scheme are to improvement the management of tiger territories, improve anti-poaching efforts and most importantly, make the local people stakeholders in conservation of the beautiful species. The key takeaway from this are as follows:

(1) Developed countries have to play a bigger role: Like Germany other financial power houses of the world like the US, the UK and France have to do more to protect environment in general and wildlife in particular. Majority of the endangered fauna and flora of the world is found in the continents of Asia, Africa and South America, all of which are densely populated. As such, to reduce the pressure on wildlife and promote its well being, these countries here need more funds. However, most of these nations are developing and are already facing several other issues like social and economic parities which take precedence over animal conservation. It is here that the developed economies can pitch in. Besides, they can use their political influence to force these nations to adopt ways which are less harmful to the environment.

(2) China, you must do more: China should take a lesson from Germany's book. It is well known that the Communist giant is the largest market for tiger products - their bones are used in traditional medicine whereas the skin, canines and nails are status symbols in Tibet. For long, China was not a part of the international efforts to save the tigers. Even today, many felines are bred in farms across the country to fulfill demands of the lucrative trade in tiger parts. It is believed that there are around 1000 big cats in Chinese farms. This needs to be stopped with immediate effect and the animals there need to be rehabilitated.

(3) Lesson for the States back home: Not only China, several Indian states can learn a lot from this episode. Look at the issue regarding the relocation of Asiatic Lion from Gir into other areas of the country. With over 400 lions, the Gir sanctuary is over crowded; besides, the threat of disease is hanging like a sword of Damocles which can drive the species to extinction. As such, there are plans to translocate some of the big cats from here to the Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. However, a section of Gujaratis have opposed it saying that these creatures are a heritage of their state. While it is good to love animals, people do have to realize that it is the Asiatic Lion and its survival that is important. Like Germany, states in India too have to rise above regional sentiments and help conserve our endangered wildlife.

IMAGES

(1) Courtesy: WWF-India
WWF-India's work for the Tiger (Link)