India’s wild tiger population doubles within a decade as conservation efforts continue to offer hope for the species
The country now has the largest global population of tigers, with a new study confirming that areas of protected habitat have helped to successfully boost numbers.
India has doubled its wild tiger population within a decade, with a new study finding that successful conservation efforts have been responsible for the positive progress.
A target to double wild tigers globally was initially set by world governments back in 2010 during the St. Petersburg International summit on tiger conservation.
India is playing a leading role in the recovery program, and has already reported that it has boosted its tiger population in the country by more than double since the international summit more than a decade ago.
According to the latest official figures taken from the All India Tiger Estimation (AITE) in 2022, the number of wild tigers in the country are estimated to be at least 3,167. This represents around 75 percent of the global population.
The area that these animals roam in India now stands at an estimated 138,200 square kilometres, making it the largest population of tigers in the world, according to a new study that has analysed the country’s tiger conservation efforts.
The researchers, who published their results in the peer-reviewed journal Science, report that the tiger occupancy has not only increased by 30 percent over the last two decades, but it is continuing to grow by nearly 3000 square kilometers each year.
This territory includes varied terrain, with tigers persistently occupying human-free, prey-rich protected areas, but also living in close proximity to habitats that were shared with around 60 million people.
The main drivers of lower or extinct populations of tigers in the country were reported in the study as armed conflict, poverty, and extensive land-use change.
But it also found what have been the key elements for India’s successful tiger recovery. The sparing of land dedicated for tigers is perhaps the most important, as it has enabled land sharing which helps to avoid human-animal conflict.
Contrary to what many would expect, the researchers found that human density was not a major deterrent to tiger populations and recovery, though numbers were low in comparison to protected wildlife areas.
Amid news of many species struggling to maintain or boost their populations, India’s tiger recovery offers a hopeful story of people, government and conservation organizations working together successfully to help save a species. Author’s of the study say their findings with India’s tiger population offer a “cautious optimism” for megafauna recovery, particularly in the Global South.
Conservationists say that tigers play a significant role in the structure and function of ecosystems. The species is an apex predator and the world’s largest cat.
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