The rising number of tigers in India shows the resounding success of Project Tiger, which is now in its 50th year. The country’s big-cat count has risen to 3,167 in 2022, which is more than double the low of 1,411 in 2005. When the Centre launched the conservation mission in April 1973, tiger numbers in the country had dwindled from an estimated 40,000 at the time of Independence to merely 1,800—thanks to widespread poaching and trophy hunting. Against such a backdrop, Project Tiger has proved to be a shining example of government-driven conservation. To be sure, the extermination of the animal from Rajasthan’s Sariska reserve was a body blow, but the recovery has been quick.
The government took quick steps in the face of the crisis and Project Tiger was reconstituted and the National Tiger Conservation Authority was set up. The NTCA got more teeth on checking poaching and financing rehabilitation of villages away from the protected areas. In just under two decades, the population in the reserve has gone up from zero to an estimated 24-27 tigers.
Read More at https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/roaring-success/3041525/
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