Leg-up for big cats

NEW DELHI: International Tiger Day, which was observed recently, gave India quite reasons to rejoice — as three out of four tigers in the wild globally are found in India. As per the latest Status of Tigers: Co-Predators & Prey in India-2022 report released last week, India now has 3,682 tigers, up from 2,967 tigers in 2018, which is a rise of almost 24% in four years. The numbers are an improvement over the Wildlife Institute of India (WI) estimates of 3,167 tigers present in the wild, as announced in April this year, while commemorating 50 years of Project Tiger. India now has the proud distinction of being home to approximately 75% of the world’s tiger population.

Among the 53 tiger reserves (which started as nine) in the country, spread across 75,796 sq km, making up 2.3% of India’s total land area, Corbett leads the pack with 260 big cats. State-wise, Madhya Pradesh has emerged numero uno, with most numbers of the apex predators — 785. Karnataka with 563, and Uttarakhand with 560 big cats have emerged as the runner up, and third ranker respectively. Tamil Nadu bagged the fifth spot with 306 tigers, a vast improvement from 2006, when it had 76 big cats. Only a few states like Maharashtra and Kerala could boast of the quadruple increase in its count, and TN is one of them.

As per the report released by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and WII, Mudumalai recorded the highest tiger population (114) among the five tiger reserves in TN. Chief Minister MK Stalin lauded the state’s commitment to safeguarding the endangered species which has yielded remarkable results. The state government had put in a lot of muscle to increase the habitat size by bringing even more area under forest reserves, as well as minimising human intervention in buffer zones.

Five tiger reserves including Nagarhole, Bandipur, and BRT in Karnataka, along with Mudumalai and Sathyamangalam in TN collectively house the largest contiguous tiger ecosystem globally. They are also home to the highest number of tigers, exceeding 800. But, there are areas of concern too — endemic declines in tiger population were observed in northeastern parts, Jharkhand and the Western Ghats. More than a third of reserves are in urgent need of enhanced protection measures, apart from habitat restoration, augmentation of ungulates (meaning prey like chital, blackbuck and deer), and reintroduction of tigers. Just about 65% of India’s big cat population is found in reserves. As per NTCA officials, a surge in human footprint and development had led to more instances of man-animal conflict.

Per stakeholders, there is a need to maintain a proper balance between conservation efforts, and the ecological and social carrying capacity of tiger habitats. Further growth of tiger population in areas that have already breached this capacity could only lead to habitat degradation, increased competition for resources and increased man-animal encounters. If the big cat population continues to spike, initiatives to manage and maintain a sustainable count will be necessary. Conservationists have called for habitat management, creation of corridors facilitating connectivity between habitats, designating ecosystems as inviolate as well as taking steps to mitigate man-animal conflict which could include translocation of big cats to regions with low tiger population. The government should consider turning conservation outside protected forest areas into an economically lucrative option for dwellers in this region, through ecotourism and nature conservancies.