Tiger - Panthera tigris - T8 Ladli - 04 (22499037535)

Tigers in India constitute more than 70% of the global population of tigers.

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

is officially adopted as the

National Animal This is a list of countries that have officially designated one or more animals as their national animals. National animal {, class="wikitable sortable" ! Country ! Name of animal ! Scientific name (Latin name) ! class="unsortable", Picture ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

on recommendation of the

National Board for Wildlife Environment policies of the Government of India includes legislations related to environment. In the Directive Principles of State Policy, Article 48A says "the state shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the for ...

since April 1972. In popular local languages, tigers are called called ''baagh'' or ''sher''. The

Bengal Tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...

(''Panthera tigris tigris'' CBI:txid74535 is the species found all across the country except Thar desert region,

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

and Kutch region. These can attain the largest body size among all the

Felidae Felidae () is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a felid (). The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the ...

, and therefore are called Royal Bengal Tigers. Skin hides measuring up to 4 meter are recorded. The body length measured from its nose to the tip of the tail can reach up to 3 meter and it can weigh up to 280 Kilogram with male being heavier than the female. The average

life expectancy Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth ...

is about 15 years. However, they are known to survive for up to 20 years in wild. It is solitary and territorial. Tigers in India usually hunts

chital The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also known as the spotted deer, chital deer, and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described and given a binomial name by German naturalist Johann Christian Po ...

(''Axis axis''), sambar (''Cervus unicolor''),

barasingha The barasingha (''Rucervus duvaucelii''), also known as the swamp deer, is a deer species distributed in the Indian subcontinent. Populations in northern and central India are fragmented, and two isolated populations occur in southwestern Nepal. ...

(''Cervus duvacelii''), wild buffalo (''Bubalis arnee'')

nilgai The nilgai (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') (, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest Asian antelope and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus ''Boselaphus'' and was described by Peter Sim ...

(''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') and

gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ), also known as the Indian bison, is a bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 m ...

(''Bos gaurus'') and other animals such as the wild pig (''Sus scrofa'') for

prey Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...

and sometimes even other

predators Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

s and

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

s. There are instances of Elephant calves (''Elephas maximus'') hunted by tigers. The tiger is estimated to have been present in India since the

Late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as Upper Pleistocene from a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of ...

, for about 12,000 to 16,500 years.Tigers are found in 20 states of India with a variety of habitats including

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

mangrove swamps A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and sub-tropical forests, as well as shola forest systems and from plains to mountains over 6000 feet. The tiger is classified as

Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

in the IUCN's Red List of

Threatened Species Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

. Tigers throughout the

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

are found across 12 regional tiger conservation landscapes (TCLs), of which India is home to 6 global priority TCLs for long-term tiger conservation significance which harbors more than 60% of the global

genetic variation Genetic variation is the difference in DNA among individuals or the differences between populations. The multiple sources of genetic variation include mutation and genetic recombination. Mutations are the ultimate sources of genetic variation, ...

in the tiger species. India is one of the Founding members of the intergovernmental platform of Tiger Range Countries – Global Tiger Forum headquartered in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. With a global share of 17%

human population Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

and 18%

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

population within 2.4% land area of the world, India has successfully managed to conserve the single largest population of free ranging wild tigers in the world effectively trying to reverse a century of decline. Several initiatives in the form of amendments to the

Wildlife Protection Act The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted for protection of plants and animal species. Before 1972, India had only five designated national parks. Among other reforms, the Act established scheduled pr ...

, creating the "

National Tiger Conservation Authority The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was established in December 2005, following a recommendation of the Tiger Task Force, constituted by the Prime Minister of India for reorganised management of Project Tiger and the many Tiger Re ...

", delineating inviolate Core Areas in Tiger Reserves and incentivised voluntary relocation program, among many others have been critical in securing the survival of key tiger populations, the biodiversity, and the ecosystem services of the forests they inhabit. The

Project Tiger Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme launched in April 1973 by the Government of India during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tenure. The project aims at ensuring a viable population of the Bengal tiger in its natural habitats, protecti ...

Division under

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is an Indian government ministry. This ministry is headed by Secretary Rank senior most IAS officer. The ministry portfolio is currently held by Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister of ...

is dedicated for conservation efforts in a scientific way using advanced technological tools. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

increased the budget allocation for

tiger conservation The tiger is an iconic species. Tiger conservation attempts to prevent the animal from becoming extinct and preserving its natural habitat. This is one of the main objectives of the international animal conservation community. The Convention on Int ...

from INR 185 crore in 2014 to INR 300 crore in 2022.. India is committed to secure the livelihoods of its citizens while simultaneously minimizing its impact on its wildlife conservation goals. In 2022, 54th tiger reserve in India was declared in Ranipur Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh, it being the State's fourth tiger reserve. Tigers are present in different landscapes across the country. Some landscapes are having rich and viable population with adequate habitat and abundance of prey. Then are some landscapes which are prone to human interference but have potential to support improved tiger population. Unfortunately, there are some habitats where once thriving tiger population has now disappeared. As of 2020, it is estimated that nearly 30% of tiger population in India is present outside the Tiger Reserves. While other tiger range countries with relatively more economic prosperity have failed to protect this endangered species, India has lived up to its global commitment for tiger conservation and achieved the target of doubling its population (TX2) ahead of the set time-frame. Despite all the odds ranging from population stress to the demands of development and livelihoods, India has successfully managed to achieve the fine balance between modernization and conservation owing to the people's traditional, cultural and religious tolerance to all forms of life that cohabit with them.

Common names

In India, it is known by different names in different languages *

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

, Baagh (বাঘ) *

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, Tiger *

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

, Vāgha (વાઘ) *

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

, Baagh (बाघ) *

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

, Huli (ಹುಲಿ) *

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

, kaṭuva (കടുവ) *

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

, Vāgha (वाघ) * Manipuri, Kei (কৈ) * Punjabi, Śēra (ਸ਼ੇਰ) *

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

, Puli (புலி) *

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

, Puli (పులి) *

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Naturalist

Robert Armitage Sterndale Robert Armitage Sterndale (30 June 1839 – 3 October 1902) was a British naturalist, artist, writer and statesman who worked in British India before becoming governor general of St. Helena. Sterndale was born in 1839, the fourth son of Marga ...

recorded of Lieutenant-Colonel Boileau hunting a 12 feet tiger in 1861. Its hide is said to have measured 13 feet 5 inches. He also mentions Colonel Ramsay killing a 12 feet tiger. There are many noted instances of tigers in India over 10 feet killed during British rule. Loss of healthy gene-pool due to excessive hunting can be attributed to relatively smaller size of present day tigers. These big cats are in fact good swimmers. Tigers can endure thirst for substantial amount of time. In one instance recorded by British naturalist

George P. Sanderson George Peress Sanderson (1848– 5 May 1892, Madras) was a British naturalist who worked in the public works department in the princely state of Mysore. He began a system for capturing wild elephants that were destructive to agriculture so as t ...

, two wounded tigers were caught in net during hot weather and they survived without water for 10 days. Tigers cannot climb but the claw markings on the tree bark can be found up to a height of 10 feet. Tigers are known to be

cannibals Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, bo ...

and sometimes

scavengers Scavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a herbivorous feeding be ...

. British Military Officer, Alexander Angus Airlie Kinloch, an enthusiastic tiger-hunter in his book published in 1885 observes

''It is rarely that tigers become man-eaters, probably on account of there being such abundance of game and cattle for them. Unless provoked, the tiger will rarely attack a man, but does his best to get away quickly.''

Sir Samuel Baker Sir Samuel White Baker, KCB, FRS, FRGS (8 June 1821 – 30 December 1893) was an English explorer, officer, naturalist, big game hunter, engineer, writer and abolitionist. He also held the titles of Pasha and Major-General in the Ottoman ...

, a Naturalist as well as a

Big Game Hunter Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game animals for meat, commercially valuable by-products (such as horns/antlers, furs, tusks, bones, body fat/oil, or special organs and contents), trophy/taxidermy, or simply just for recreation ("spo ...

, revealed that it was rare for a tiger to attack any human being when suddenly and unexpectedly disturbed. He mentioned

''The truth is that the tiger seldom attacks to actually kill, unless it is driven, or wounded in a hunt. It will frequently charge with a short roar if suddenly disturbed, but it does not intend to charge home, and a shout from a native will be sufficient to turn it aside; it will then dash forward and disappear, probably as glad to lose sight of the man as he is at his escape from danger.''

Mythology and Culture

The

Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

, an epic poem of

ancient India According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...

Sanskrit literature Sanskrit literature broadly comprises all literature in the Sanskrit language. This includes texts composed in the earliest attested descendant of the Proto-Indo-Aryan language known as Vedic Sanskrit, texts in Classical Sanskrit as well as s ...

authored by

Vyāsa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...

, having originated in

Vedic Period The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (ca. 1300–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, betw ...

, consists of 18 parvas (books). The fifth Parva,

Udyoga Parva The Udyoga Parva ( sa, उद्योग पर्वः), or ''the Book of Effort,'' is the fifth of eighteen books of the Indian Epic Mahabharata.van Buitenen, J.A.B. (1978) ''The Mahabharata: Book 4: The Book of the Virata; Book 5: The Book o ...

, has 10 parts and 199 chapters. One of its

shloka Shloka or śloka ( sa, श्लोक , from the root , Macdonell, Arthur A., ''A Sanskrit Grammar for Students'', Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927). in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is ...

reads

निर्वनो वध्यते व्याघ्रो निर्व्याघ्रं छिद्यते वनम् ।
तस्माद्व्याघ्रो वनं रक्षेद्वनं व्याघ्रं च पालयेत् ॥
''nirvanō vadhyatē vyāghrō nirvyāghraṁ chidyatē vanam
tasmādvyāghrō vanaṁ rakṣēdvanaṁ vyāghraṁ ca pālayēt.''

which can be translated as

Do not cut down that forest with its tigers! Let not the tigers be driven from that forest! There can be no forest without tigers, and no tigers without a forest. The forest shelters the tigers and tigers guard the forest!

This philosophy holds true in present times as well. Tiger is admired and feared alike in Indian mythology. Goddess

Shakti In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and rep ...

(

Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around co ...

) rides on the tiger. Many deities across the country such as Dingu-Aneni (in

North-East India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

Bonbibi Banbibi, the lady of the forest, also Bandevi, Bandurga and Byaghradevi is a guardian spirit of the forests venerated by both the Hindu and the Muslim residents of the Sundarbans (spread across West Bengal state in eastern India and Banglades ...

(in West Bengal),

Sabarimala Ayyappan The Sabarimala Temple (; ml, ശബരിമല ക്ഷേത്രം) is a temple complex located at Sabarimala hill inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Perinad Village, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. It is one of the largest ...

(in Kerala), Huliraya (in Karnataka), Vaghdeo or Vaghoba (in Maharashtra) and Chandraghanta are associated and venerated with tiger.

Puranas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

and

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

often mention tiger as ''vahana'' for many of the religious figures. The

Matsya Purana The ''Matsya Purana'' (IAST: Matsya Purāṇa) is one of the eighteen major Puranas (Mahapurana), and among the oldest and better preserved in the Puranic genre of Sanskrit literature in Hinduism. The text is a Vaishnavism text named after the h ...

while narrating

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

's marriage with

Sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...

, describes some of the Ganas, the Shiva's attendants, having a face resembling that of a tiger.

Harivamsa Purana was composed by Acharya Jinasena in 783 AD. It is divided into 66 cantos and contains 12,000 slokas. The book aims to narrate the life of Neminatha, the twenty-second Tirthankara in Jainism. According to the Jain sources, Krishna is the firs ...

often uses qualities of a tiger as adjectives. One Buddhist mythological tale suggest that

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

in his past incarnation presented himself to a tigress as food when she was about to cannibalize her own cubs. This highlights

compassion Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental or emotional pains of others and themselves. Compassion is often regarded as being sensitive to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others. When based on n ...

, the greatest virtue in

Buddhist philosophy Buddhist philosophy refers to the philosophical investigations and systems of inquiry that developed among various schools of Buddhism in India following the parinirvana of The Buddha and later spread throughout Asia. The Buddhist path combi ...

. Taoism depicts tiger as one of its prominent element in its temples. Tiger images can be seen in the

cave paintings In archaeology, Cave paintings are a type of parietal art (which category also includes petroglyphs, or engravings), found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric art, prehistoric origin, and the oldest known are mor ...

from

mesolithic era The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...

found in the

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

Bhimbetka rock shelters The Bhimbetka rock shelters are an archaeological site in central India that spans the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods, as well as the historic period. It exhibits the earliest traces of human life in India and evidence of Stone Age start ...

. Tiger featured on the seals discovered in

Mohenjodaro Mohenjo-daro (; sd, موئن جو دڙو'', ''meaning 'Mound of the Dead Men';Kalibangan Kalibangān is a town located at on the left or southern banks of the Ghaggar (Ghaggar-Hakra River) in Tehsil Pilibangān, between Suratgarh and Hanumangarh in Hanumangarh District, Rajasthan, India 205 km. from Bikaner. It is also identifi ...

shows its significance in the ancient

Indus civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900&n ...

and culture. Earliest known pictorial depiction of Shiva wearing tiger skin are from

Kushana The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...

Period. Tiger holds religious and cultural significance for many

adivasi The Adivasi refers to inhabitants of Indian subcontinent, generally tribal people. The term is a Sanskrit word coined in the 1930s by political activists to give the tribal people an indigenous identity by claiming an indigenous origin. The term ...

s in India. Kharia, Bhaina, Savar (or Saur), Parja tribes and Kusro sept in the state of Madhya Pradesh has

totem A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While ''the wo ...

s of tiger. Baigas consider tiger as their brother.

Gonds The Gondi (Gōndi) or Gond or Koitur are a Dravidian ethno-linguistic group. They are one of the largest tribal groups in India. They are spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Prad ...

are known for propitiating the tiger as they see it as a protector. Korku worships Baghdeo (Tiger God). For the Murias, Chitan Deo (Tiger God) is the god of good hunting. Bhagashwar (Tiger God) is worshiped by the Bharias with a belief that they won't be killed by a tiger. Koyas people consider Konarzu as their Tiger God. It is a well known fact that tribal people who share their lands with this top predator abstain from killing them as they consider it to be sacred. Traditionally, India has always had a culture of conserving forests and the wildlife in its nature. Hunting of tigers by Islamic Invaders can be traced back to the Mughal cultural links with

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

and

Timurid Timurid refers to those descended from Timur (Tamerlane), a 14th-century conqueror: * Timurid dynasty, a dynasty of Turco-Mongol lineage descended from Timur who established empires in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent ** Timurid Empire of C ...

ancestry which practiced hunting of big cats (lions, in their region) as a ritual "to formalise any kind of authority" and considered killing them as a good omen for the kingdom. Conversely, if the hunting was unsuccessful and the animal escaped, it would invite trouble for the kingdom. Foreign naturalists identified that tigers were regarded by the natives with a divine awe which prevented its killing by locals, even when they had power. European religious magazines and publications played crucial role for introducing tigers to their youth and children. While promptly acknowledging being unknown to this "terrific animal" which was "not an inhabitant of bible land", English missionaries when passing through jungles "for the purpose of preaching the gospel to, and distributing religious books, among the poor benighted heathen" often encountered what they called "most savage and destructive of animals". On confronting this big cat, many a times they would lose the life of their fellow missionaries. Then would ask to the readers back in their country

''What do you think it was? Why, it was the body of the poor man who had been killed. ... It was, indeed, a horrid and painful sight, and one which I shall never forget. On looking at it my blood seems to curdle in my veins. ... Youthful reader, did you ever feel thankful that you were born in a country where you are not in danger of being killed and eaten by those cruel and blood thirsty beasts?''

Missionaries would also point out that

''In many places, the inhabitants appear to have resigned the dominion to the tigers, and take few precautions against them; regarding them as sacred.''

The popular myth that tigers are known to suck blood of its prey was disproved more than a century ago.

History

Arthashastra The ''Arthashastra'' ( sa, अर्थशास्त्रम्, ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, political science, economic policy and military strategy. Kautilya, also identified as Vishnugupta and Chanakya, is ...

, an ancient Indian political treatise authored by

Kautilya Chanakya (Sanskrit: चाणक्य; IAST: ', ; 375–283 BCE) was an ancient Indian polymath who was active as a teacher, author, strategist, philosopher, economist, jurist, and royal advisor. He is traditionally identified as Kauṭilya o ...

more than two thousand years ago, mentions of ''vyaala vana'' (wildlife and tiger reserve) which was a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

in the kingdom by the Royal Command.

King Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...

of the

Maurya Empire The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

rejected hunting as a royal hobby. From time immemorial, humans and tigers have co-existed throughout India. Tiger is elusive and avoid humans under normal circumstances but never charges unless wounded, or in defence of its young cubs. However, there are instances where tigers have attacked humans and cattle as result of which villages were abandoned owing to the neighbourhood of these animals. But killing the tiger was never seen as a solution to the problem. In fact, tigers are revered and worshiped in the forests and grasslands it shared with people throughout the region. However, the foreign invaders and rulers saw capturing or hunting of tigers as a symbol of masculinity and an adventurous sporting event. Killing of this charismatic wild animal, often considered "merciless blood sucking beast" was an extension of justifying kingship, building the empire and establishing sovereignty. Indulging in hunting of this top predator was considered as a "Royal Privilege" by Mughals through which they could exercise their authority over the native subjects and natural world. This regal sport portrayed rulers as "heroes" capable of slaying the fiercest of the beasts and destroying the "evil" lurking around. Despite the prevalence of tiger hunting as a royal sport for centuries, the consequences were larger during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

due to the hunters' use of far superior firepower, and their hobby to hunt shared by a lot of colonial aristocrats led to further depletion. Hunting events were chronicled in detail by the British officers in their personal diaries, memoirs, official gazetteers and their photographs to establish extravagance and might of the British Empire in India. British rulers enacted Forest Act of 1878 which enabled them to treat forest area as hunting grounds to eradicate tigers legitimately which were subsequently labelled as

vermin Vermin (colloquially varmint(s) or varmit(s)) are pests or nuisance animals that spread diseases or destroy crops or livestock. Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included vary by region and enterpr ...

s. Killing of tiger involved considerable danger and the hunting of a tiger had been considered a manly and a courageous feat with game, trophies being collected as the symbols of valor and prestige. Accounts of British royalty photographed aside dead tiger carcasses during the late 19th and early 20th centuries depict the construction of the successful conquest of Indian nature, thus symbolizing the imperial, masculine identities desired by the British. In early 19th century, Bishop Heber has written a poem for the English youth and children in which he mentions about tigers in India.

''Our task is done! On Ganga's Breast
The sun is sinking down to rest;
And moor'd beneath the tamarind bough,
Our bark has found its harbour now.
With furled sail and painted side,
Behold the tiny frigate ride.
Upon her deck, mid-charcoal gleams,
The Muslim's savoury supper steams,
While all apart, beneath the wood,
The Hindu cooks his simpler food.
Come walk with me the jungle through;
If yonder hunter told us true,
Far off, in the desert dank and rude, The Tiger holds his solitude;
Nor taught by secret charm to shun
The thunders of the english gun;
A dreadful guest but rarely seen,
Returns to scare the village green.''

A manager at

Isaac A. Van Amburgh Isaac A. Van Amburgh (1808–1865) was an American animal trainer who developed the first trained wild animal act in modern times.Culhane, John. ''The American Circus,'' Henry Holt and Company, Inc., 1990., pg. 20 By introducing jungle acts into ...

menagerie A menagerie is a collection of captive animals, frequently exotic, kept for display; or the place where such a collection is kept, a precursor to the modern Zoo, zoological garden. The term was first used in 17th-century France, in reference to ...

described to people in other parts of world about these tigers from India as

... ''Glutting himself with the blood of his victims, he is a fit emblem of cruelty. ... though gutted with slaughter, (tiger) is not satisfied - but continues the carnage and seems to have its courage only inflamed by not finding resistance. He is the only animal whose spirit seems untamable: neither force nor constraint, violence or flattery can prevail in the least on his stubborn nature. The caresses of the keeper have no influence on his heart of iron; and time, instead of mollifying its disposition only serves to increase its fierceness and malignity. The tiger snaps at the hand that feeds it, as well as that by which it is chastised - every object seems considered only as its proper prey, which it devours with a look, although confined by bars and chains, still makes fruitless efforts as if to show its malignity when incapable of exerting its force. ... In short the beast may be said to be possessed of a devil, and no human power can instill into him the attributes of love and kindness.''

Colonial rulers established postal services in India for their effective administration. To shorten the time taken to deliver the post, these men would enter into the jungles which were otherwise undisturbed by human activities. Often there were instances involving the postman being attacked by Tigers. Such tigers were brandished as Man-Eaters and hunted down by British officers. Often the elite British rulers in India would come up with a book publication narrating the exaggerated tales of their adventurous and "valor acts" of killing the tiger catered to the English audience back home. These books largely shaped the perception of European foreigners who liked to believe that by killing the tiger they were doing a favor to the native population. Lieutenant Colonel Frank Sheffield in his widely popular book ''How I Killed the Tiger'' wrote,

''I had the satisfaction of knowing that I had rid the community of dangerous pest. The tiger in India is looked upon as a common enemy. All classes are in mortal dread of him. ... There is, therefore, great rejoicing over the death of a tiger''

The press in Britain would then eulogize these incidents of tiger shooting which gave rise to the craze of Big Game Hunting in India. Press opinions on the heroic acts of their countrymen in the colonized India were notable in

Daily Chronicle The 'Daily Chronicle' was a British newspaper that was published from 1872 to 1930 when it merged with the ''Daily News (UK), Daily News'' to become the ''News Chronicle''. Foundation The ''Daily Chronicle'' was developed by Edward Lloyd (publis ...

, United Service Gazette, The Field, Daily News,

The Graphic ''The Graphic'' was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company Illustrated Newspapers Ltd. Thomas's brother Lewis Samuel Thomas was a co-founder. The premature death of the latt ...

Land and Water ''Land and Water'' was the title of a British magazine best known for its commentary on the First World War and its aftermath. The title was also used in earlier magazines about country sporting life. Tracing the title is challenging due to limi ...

Examiner Examiner or The Examiner may refer to: Occupations * Bank examiner, a kind of auditor * Examiner (Roman Catholicism), a type of office in the Roman Catholic Church * Examinership, a concept in Irish law * Medical examiner * Patent examiner * Tr ...

Standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

Hampstead & Highgate Express The Ham & High, officially the Hampstead & Highgate Express is a weekly paid newspaper published in the London Borough of Camden by Archant. The newspaper is priced at £1 and is published every Thursday. History Founded in 1860, from 1862 it ...

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

and

The Navy and Army Illustrated ''The Navy and Army Illustrated'' was an illustrated glossy journal or magazine that covered historical and contemporary military matters from 1895 to 1915. First published in 1895 by George Newnes, ''The Navy and Army Illustrated'' described its ...

among others. Articles published in the press would attract young Englishmen to visit Indian subcontinent for tiger-shooting. When the adult parent tiger was killed, cubs would be caught and sailed to the land of British. Tigers were kept as pets among few Englishmen. There are accounts of tigers being tamed and showing docile behavior. However, there have been instances when caged Tigers from the menagerie have escaped. In October 1857 a tigress escaped from confines of

Charles Jamrach Charles Jamrach (born Johann Christian Carl Jamrach; March 1815 – 6 September 1891) was a leading dealer in wildlife, birds and shells in 19th-century London. He owned an exotic pet store on the Ratcliffe Highway in east London — at the time t ...

who has purchased a lot of animals brought from British ruled colonies on the shores of London. A 9 year old boy playing on street was attacked and rescued. Mr. Edmonds from Birmingham later purchased this tigress for £200 (equivalent to 18,000 pound sterling in 2022) in his personal collection and put it as an exhibit with advertising "The tiger that swallowed the child in

Ratcliff Highway The Highway, part of which was formerly known as the Ratcliffe Highway, is a road in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The route dates back to Roman London, Roman times. In the 19th century it had a reputation for ...

" Later this tigress escaped to kill another Lion in Edmond's menagerie.

, a British official posted in erstwhile

Mysore State Mysore State, colloquially Old Mysore, was a state within the Dominion of India and the later Republic of India from 1947 until 1956. The state was formed by renaming the Kingdom of Mysore, and Bangalore replaced Mysore as the state's capital. ...

, wrote ''"May the day be far distant when the tiger shall become practically extinct!"'' Tiger fights used to be held in

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

during the reign of last king of

Awadh Awadh (), known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a region in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is synonymous with the Kośāla region of ...

Wajid Ali Shah Mirza Wajid Ali Shah ( ur, ) (30 July 1822 – 1 September 1887) was the eleventh and last King of Awadh, holding the position for 9 years, from 13 February 1847 to 11 February 1856. Wajid Ali Shah's first wife was Alam Ara who was better k ...

and it is well documented that a dozen tigers were sold in market to highest bidder for ten rupees each. Tipu Sultan, the prince of Mysore state was also associated with Tiger. In 1986, it was discovered that tigers were declining rapidly due to being poisoned, snared or shot and then smuggled out of India to supply medicinal manufacturers in China.Nichols, Michael, and Geoffrey C. Ward. (1998). "The Year of the Tiger." National Geographic Society. Print.

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

was earlier known as Puliyur, meaning Tiger Town.

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

(erstwhile Bombay) has recorded tigers in the vicinity till 1929. Major cities along the river

Yamuna The Yamuna (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in List of major rivers of India, India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

and

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...

once had free roaming tigers in the neighboring jungles. Post-Indian Independence, the newly formed

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

(present-day

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

) had rich bounty of tigers in the Sundarban Districts of

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

. The administration advertised its plentiful natural heritage as "a sportsman's paradise". It invited people to "take part in this exciting sport" by paying a "license fee".

Habitat and Ecology

Global tiger population is confined to only 13 countries -

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Lao People's Democratic Republic Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. Of these, only in 8 countries can breeding tiger population be found in the wild. India, Nepal and Russia are the only countries that have successfully increased the tiger population through conservation efforts. As of 2022, the tigers are now likely to be extinct in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam. It is an adaptable species that can survive in a wide variety of habitats and climates ranging from high mountains, mangroves swamps, tall grasslands, to dry and moist deciduous forests, as well as evergreen forests as witnessed in all over the geography of India. The reddish-orange with black stripes coat provide good

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...

in its environment. Tigers prefer a large territory, the size of which is determined by the availability of prey. It marks the territory by urine, feces, rakes, scrapes, and vocalizing. Tigers are now forced to compete for space with ever increasing human expansion. They have a tendency of using landscape features such as dirt roads, trails, foot paths, riverbeds and nullahs which often leads to public sighting.

Landscapes

India has five major tiger occupied landscape complexes which have their own unique geographical features and population of tigers

Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Plains

With an average width of 60 km and stretching across nearly 900 km from river

and Sharda in the west to

Valmiki Tiger Reserve Valmiki National Park is a Tiger Reserve in the West Champaran District of Bihar, India. It is the only national park in Bihar. Valmiki Tiger Reserve covers , which is 17.4% of the total geographical area of the district. As of 2018, there were ...

in the east, Shivalik and the

Gangetic Plains The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain encompassing northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including most of northern and eastern India, around half of Pakistan, virtually all of Ba ...

landscape consists of three parallel geological zones - the Shivaliks, the

bhabar Bhabar or Bhabhar ( Kumaoni: bhābar) is a region south of the Lower Himalayas and the Sivalik Hills in Kumaon, India, containing some of the largest cities of Kumaon, Haldwani and Ramnagar, both in Nainital District. It is the alluvial apron o ...

tract and the

terai The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in northern India and southern Nepal that lies south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by tall grasslands, scr ...

plains ranging from

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

. Shivaliks are the young fold mountains with elevation up to 1500 m situated between the Himalayas and Indus-Gangetic-Brahmaputra-Irrawaddy plains. Streams from Shivalik enter underground in the bhabhar region to re-emerge again in the terai zone which is marked by annual flooding, a high water table, shifting floodplains, vast swampy areas and hence with abundant tall grass species. India and

share the forests in the terai region and

is also a significant part of this zone. This makes trans-boundary co-operation in the conservation efforts important. High density of tiger population (up to 15 tigers per per 100 sq. km.) in this landscape can be attributed to existence of more than 15,000 sq km forested area with plenty of tiger prey base such as *

Cervids Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

- Kaakad (''Muntiacus muntjak''),

Chital The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also known as the spotted deer, chital deer, and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described and given a binomial name by German naturalist Johann Christian Po ...

(''Axis axis''),

Hog Deer ''Axis'' is a genus of deer occurring in South and Southeast Asia. As presently defined by most authorities, four species are placed in the genus. Three of the four species are called hog deer. The genus name is a word mentioned in Pliny the Eld ...

(''Axis porcinus''), Sambar (''Rusa unicolor'') and the

Barasingha The barasingha (''Rucervus duvaucelii''), also known as the swamp deer, is a deer species distributed in the Indian subcontinent. Populations in northern and central India are fragmented, and two isolated populations occur in southwestern Nepal. ...

(''Rucervus duvaucelii'') *

Bovids The Bovidae comprise the biological family of cloven-hoofed, ruminant mammals that includes cattle, bison, buffalo, antelopes, and caprines. A member of this family is called a bovid. With 143 extant species and 300 known extinct species, the ...

Blackbuck The blackbuck (''Antilope cervicapra''), also known as the Indian antelope, is an antelope native to India and Nepal. It inhabits grassy plains and lightly forested areas with perennial water sources. It stands up to high at the shoulder. Mal ...

(''Antilope cervicapra''),

Chousingha The four-horned antelope (''Tetracerus quadricornis''), or ''chousingha'', is a small antelope found in India and Nepal. Its four Horn (anatomy), horns distinguish it from most other bovids, which have two horns (with a few exceptions, such as t ...

(''Tetracerus quadricornis''),

Gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ), also known as the Indian bison, is a bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 m ...

(''Bos gaurus''),

Goral The gorals are four species in the genus ''Naemorhedus''. They are small ungulates with a goat-like or antelope-like appearance. Until recently, this genus also contained the serow species (now in genus '' Capricornis''). Etymology The original ...

(''Naemorhedus goral''),

Serow The serows ( or ) are four species of medium-sized goat-like or antelope-like mammals of the genus ''Capricornis''. All four species of serow were until recently also classified under '' Naemorhedus'', which now only contains the gorals. Extant ...

(''Capricornis thar'') and

Nilgai The nilgai (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') (, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest Asian antelope and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus ''Boselaphus'' and was described by Peter Sim ...

(''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') *Other

Mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

One-horned Rhinoceros ''Rhinoceros'' is a genus comprising one-horned rhinoceroses. This scientific name was proposed by Swedish taxonomist Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The genus contains two species, the Indian rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis'') and the Javan rhinocer ...

(''Rhinoceros unicornis'') and

Wild Boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

or Pig (''Sus scrofa'')

Central India and Eastern Ghats

Central India Central India is a loosely defined geographical region of India. There is no clear official definition and various ones may be used. One common definition consists of the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which are included in alm ...

n and

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...

landscape includes all the area from semi-arid zone of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

, central Indian plateau of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

(along with some part of Sahyadris), and

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

to parts of the Eastern Ghats

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

and

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

and

Step-like geological formation can be seen at

Chhota Nagpur Plateau The Chota Nagpur Plateau is a plateau in eastern India, which covers much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar. The Indo-Gangetic plain lies to the north and east of the plateau, and the bas ...

(consisting of Hazaribagh, Ranchi and Koderma plateaus) along with the hills of Aravalli,

Satpura The Satpura Range is a range of hills in central India. The range rises in eastern Gujarat running east through the border of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and ends in Chhattisgarh. The range parallels the Vindhya Range to the north, and th ...

and those in Eastern Ghats have an elevation range of 200 m to 1300 m. This hilly terrain with patches of shallow infertile soils has been a natural deterrent for extensive cultivation and hence many areas in this landscape remain forested. However, the historic continuation of ancient forests in Eastern Ghats with primitive forests of Central India along the Chhota Nagpur plateau is near extinction. A huge network of Protected Areas with nearly half of the total Tiger Reserves of India can be seen in this landscape. Peninsular forests transitions into

Thar desert The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent, Subcontinent that covers an area of and forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. It is the world's Li ...

through a semi-arid region located between part of north western Madhya Pradesh and Eastern Rajasthan. This varied habitat supports high

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

and is known for its tiger abundance. The landscape is undergoing massive degradation due to

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

, infrastructure development and

insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregu ...

. Wildlife habitats of this landscape are the most fragmented in India. With presence of four tiger populations that have more than 100 tigers each (with Kanha- Pench Block having more than 300 tigers) this landscape is home to a few

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

species such as Indian Wild Buffalo (''Bubalus arnee'') and Hard Ground

(''Rucervus duvacelli branderi''). Other common prey animals here are

(''Antilope cervicapra''),

Barking deer Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

(''Muntiacus muntjak''),

Chinkara The chinkara (''Gazella bennettii''), also known as the Indian gazelle, is a gazelle species native to Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Taxonomy The following six subspecies are considered valid: * Deccan chinkara (''G. b. bennettii'') ...

(''Gazella benetti''),

(''Axis axis''),

Chowsingha The four-horned antelope (''Tetracerus quadricornis''), or ''chousingha'', is a small antelope found in India and Nepal. Its four horns distinguish it from most other bovids, which have two horns (with a few exceptions, such as the Jacob sheep). ...

(''Tetracerus quadricornis''),

(''Bos gaurus''),

Mouse Deer Chevrotains, or mouse-deer, are small even-toed ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, the only extant members of the infraorder Tragulina. The 10 extant species are placed in three genera, but several species also are known only f ...

(''Moschiola indica''),

(''Boselaphus tragocamelus''), Sambar (''Rusa unicolor''), Wild Pig (''Sus scrofa'')

The Western Ghats

Beginning from the

River Tapi The Tapti River (or Tapi) is a river in central India located to the south of the Narmada river that flows westwards before draining into the Arabian Sea. The river has a length of around and flows through the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat ...

in North, running parallel to the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

coast and stretching over 1600 km to end at

Kanyakumari Kanniyakumari (; , referring to Devi Kanya Kumari), also known as Cape Comorin, is a city in Kanniyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent and the southernmost city in mainland Ind ...

in South, the Western Ghats landscape ranges from

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

and

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

Total forest cover is about 1,01,467 sq. km. and this landscape has 11 notified tiger reserves as on 2018. The highest peak at Anaimudi is 2,695 m from mean sea level. This global

biodiversity hotspot A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation. Norman Myers wrote about the concept in two articles in ''The Environmentalist'' in 1988 and 1990, after which the co ...

with vegetation ranging from

grasslands A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natural ...

montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

stunted evergreen forests (

shola Sholas are the local name for patches of stunted tropical montane forest found in valleys amid rolling grassland in the higher montane regions of South India, largely in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamilnadu. These patches of shola forest are found ...

), tropical wet evergreen forests, moist deciduous to dry deciduous forests and dry thorn forests, is home to about 5,800 species of flowering plants, 500 species of birds and 120 species of mammals with a large number of them being endemic to this region. Illegal

Quarrying A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their environ ...

Mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

Hydroelectric Power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

Projects,

Deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

for

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

and

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

output with rampant

monoculture In agriculture, monoculture is the practice of growing one crop species in a field at a time. Monoculture is widely used in intensive farming and in organic farming: both a 1,000-hectare/acre cornfield and a 10-ha/acre field of organic kale are ...

, Hunting and Encroachment are the major ecological concerns which have resulted in irreversible habitat loss, disruption of habitat corridors thereby interrupting the

gene flow In population genetics, gene flow (also known as gene migration or geneflow and allele flow) is the transfer of genetic material from one population to another. If the rate of gene flow is high enough, then two populations will have equivalent a ...

in tiger population. It is estimated that in

, the state with second highest tiger population of 524 (SE 475 - 573) as per 2018 assessment, about 12% of forests have been completely destroyed since the year 2000.

North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra Flood Plains

North Bengal Dooars, Brahmaputra Flood Plains and

North Eastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

Hill ranges together constitutes North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra Flood Plains Landscape which ranges from across parts of Northern

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares int ...

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo people, Mizo", the endonym, self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo ...

and

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

The fertile plains of Bengal Dooars are at the foothills of Eastern Himalayas and has vast tropical moist forests that extends into the

Brahmaputra Valley The Brahmaputra Valley is a region situated between hill ranges of the eastern and northeastern Himalayan range in Eastern India. The valley consists of the Western Brahmaputra Valley covering the regions of Goalpara and Kamrup; the Central ...

which is about 750 km long and 80 km across surrounded by hilly terrain. This region has numerous protected areas, reserved forests and wetlands along the

Brahmaputra River The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...

. The North Eastern hill region consists of eastern Himalayas extending from the Koshi Valley in Central Nepal to northwest Yunan in China and include North East India along with the hill districts of West Bengal.

Garo Garo may refer to: People and languages * Garo people, a tribal people in India ** Garo language, the language spoken by the Garo tribe Places * Kingdom of Garo, a former kingdom in southern Ethiopia * Garo, Colorado * Garo Hills, part of the Ga ...

Khasi Khasi may refer to: * Khasi people, an ethnic group of Meghalaya, India * Khasi language, a major Austroasiatic language spoken in Meghalaya, India * Khāṣi language, an Indo-Aryan language of Jammu and Kashmir, India See also * Khasi Hills * Gh ...

and Jaintia hills forms the

Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of As ...

plateau while located in the south-east, Mizoram has a major part of

Lushai hills The Lushai (Pron: ˌlʊˈʃaɪ) Hills (or Mizo Hills) are a mountain range in Mizoram and Manipur, India. The range is part of the Patkai range system and its highest point is 2,157 m high Phawngpui, also known as 'Blue Mountain'. Flora and fau ...

with Tripura having a small chunk. India-Myanmar border is along the Naga hills where as Assam is home for the

Barail Range The Barail Range is a tertiary mountain range in Northeast India with an area of approximately 80,000 ha between Brahmaputra and Barak basins stretching from Nagaland & Manipur to the east and Assam & Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "ab ...

, Karbi-Anglong hills and the Cachar hills With highly fertile land, many

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

s and

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

in the region, the mountains, valleys and the plains with an altitude ranging from 300 m to 6000 m, showcases contrasting features and a rich variety of wildlife.

Tropical climate Tropical climate is the first of the five major climate groups in the Köppen climate classification identified with the letter A. Tropical climates are defined by a monthly average temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F) or higher in the cool ...

is predominant in valleys and rampant deforestation for extensive monoculture plantation threatens the survival of many endemic species found here. Apart from the usual tiger prey found in the rest of the country like Barking deer (''Muntiacus vaginalis''), Chital (''Axis axis''), Hog Deer (''Axis porcinus''), Sambar (''Rusa unicolor''), Swamp Deer (''Rucervus duvaucelii''), Water Buffalo (''Bubalus arnee'') and Wild Pig (''Sus scrofa''), the tigers in this landscape also prey on

Himalayan Goral The Himalayan goral (''Naemorhedus goral'') or the gray goral, is a bovid species native to the Himalayas. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List because the population is thought to be declining significantly due to habitat loss an ...

(''Naemorhedus goral''),

Himalayan Serow The Himalayan serow (''Capricornis sumatraensis thar''), also known as the thar ( , ), is a subspecies of the mainland serow native to the Himalayas. It was previously considered its own species, as ''Capricornis thar''. It is the official state ...

(''Capricornis thar''),

Red Goral The red goral (''Naemorhedus baileyi'') is a species of even-toed ungulate in the subfamily Caprinae in the family Bovidae. It is found in India, Tibet and Myanmar. Its natural habitats are seasonal mountainous areas 1,000 to 2,000 meters above s ...

(''Naemorhedus baileyi''),

Bharal The bharal (''Pseudois nayaur''), also called the blue sheep, is a caprine native to the high Himalayas. It is the only member of the genus ''Pseudois.'' It occurs in India, Bhutan, China (in Gansu, Ningxia, Sichuan, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia), ...

(''Pseudois nayaur''),

Brow-Antlered Deer Eld's deer (''Rucervus eldii'' or ''Panolia eldii''Pitraa, Fickela, Meijaard, Groves (2004). ''Evolution and phylogeny of old world deer.'' Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 33: 880–895.), also known as the thamin or brow-antlered deer, is ...

(''Cervus eldi eldi''),

Leaf Deer The leaf muntjac, leaf deer or Putao muntjac (''Muntiacus putaoensis'') is a small species of muntjac. It was documented in 1997 by biologist Alan Rabinowitz during his field study in the isolated Nogmung Township in Myanmar. Rabinowitz discovered ...

(''Muntiacus putaoensis''),

Pygmy Hog The pygmy hog (''Porcula salvania'') is the rarest species of pig in the world today, and is the only species in the genus ''Porcula''. It is also the smallest species of pig in the world, with its piglets being small enough to fit in one's pock ...

(''Porcula salvania''),

Ibex An ibex (plural ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa. ...

(''Capra ibex''),

Great Tibetan Sheep The argali (''Ovis ammon''), also known as the mountain sheep, is a wild ovis, sheep that roams the highlands of western East Asia, the Himalayas, Tibet, and the Altai Mountains. Description The name 'argali' is the Mongolian language, Mongolia ...

(''Ovis ammon hodgsoni'') and Tibetan Wild Ass (''Equus hemionus kiang''). Tigers are also known for hunting down

Badger Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united b ...

s (''Arctonyx collaris''),

Otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

s (''Lutrogale perspicillata'') and sometimes baby

Elephants Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and ...

(''Elephas maximus''), One-horned Rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis'') With two important Tiger Conservation Units (TCUs), there are nine tiger reserves in this landscape which has a forest area of around 1,70,541 sq. km. Tibet Autonomous region of China, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar are the neighboring countries that share their borders with this landscape thus making trans-boundary international cooperation an essential requirement for tiger conservation success.

Sundarban

Sundarban Sundarbans (pronounced ) is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Baleswar River in Bangladesh's division of Khulna to the Hooghly Ri ...

landscape consists of mangrove forests of southern part of West Bengal and extends into Bangladesh This important wetland is a global priority Tiger Conservation Landscape Unit covering an area of more than 10,000 sq km which was declared a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in 1987. Designated as Sundarban Biosphere Reserve with around 4,266 sq km area on the Indian side of the Sundarban (34%) is under highest protection for residing wildlife in comparison with Sundarban in Bangladesh (66%) having majority of area being open to harvest the

forest produce Forest produce is defined under section 2(4) of the Indian Forest Act, 1927. Its legal definition includes timber, charcoal, caoutchouc, catechu, wood-oil, resin, natural varnish, bark, lac, myrobalans, mahua flowers (whether found inside or brough ...

. Aquatic systems of the mangrove habitat are highly productive among the

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s. With a density of 3.6 tigers per 100 sq km in Sundarban landscape, they have adapted successfully to a more amphibious, saline, pneumatophore-filled existence. This region is also known for prevalance of high numbers of Man-Eater tigers. Chital (''Axis axis''), Wild Pig (''Sus scrofa''),

Rhesus macaque The rhesus macaque (''Macaca mulatta''), colloquially rhesus monkey, is a species of Old World monkey. There are between six and nine recognised subspecies that are split between two groups, the Chinese-derived and the Indian-derived. Generally b ...

(''Macaca mulatta'') and Lesser adjutant stork (''Leptoptilos javanicus'') are the major prey for tigers in Sundarban. Other fauna found here such as

Water monitor The Asian water monitor (''Varanus salvator'') is a large varanid lizard native to South and Southeast Asia. It is one of the most common monitor lizards in Asia, ranging from coastal northeast India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, mainland Southeast As ...

(''Varanus salvator''), young

Saltwater crocodile The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been listed ...

s (''Crocodylus porosus'') and possibly

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

are also preyed upon by the local tigers. With rivers acting as natural geographical barriers, tigers crossing the water channels by swimming up to 400 m distance have been recorded. Being in a isolated habitat, the gene flow is highly restricted for tiger species in this landscape.

Decline

Organized poaching due to illegal international demand for tiger parts and products is the major threat to the lives of existing tiger population.

leads to habitat loss, fragmentation of tiger population and depletion in its prey numbers which in turn increases the human-tiger conflict when tigers enter human populated areas to target cattle as its prey. Tigers are now at increased risk of

zoonosis A zoonosis (; plural zoonoses) or zoonotic disease is an infectious disease of humans caused by a pathogen (an infectious agent, such as a bacterium, virus, parasite or prion) that has jumped from a non-human (usually a vertebrate) to a human. ...

through interaction with domestic animals. Free ranging dogs in vicinity of Protected Area are considered to be threat to both

ungulates Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Ungulata which primarily consists of large mammals with hooves. These include odd-toed ungulates such as horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs; and even-toed ungulates such as cattle, pigs, giraffes, cam ...

(which they hunt) and to the other larger carnivores like tigers, as a carrier for infectious diseases like

rabies Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. Early symptoms can include fever and tingling at the site of exposure. These symptoms are followed by one or more of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, vi ...

parvovirus Parvoviruses are a family of animal viruses that constitute the family ''Parvoviridae''. They have linear, single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) genomes that typically contain two genes encoding for a replication initiator protein, called NS1, and the pr ...

, and distemper. Drastic fall in Tiger numbers can be attributed to large scale deforestation during British empire for the timber used in establishing vast network of Railways throughout India and increased tiger-shooting. Since 2012, records with standardized data of tiger deaths in India is being maintained by the National Tiger Conservation Authority. During the period 2017 to 2021, 547 tiger mortality instances were documented across the country. 393 tiger deaths were due to natural causes where as 25 died due to poisoning, 9 were killed from snaring, 7 were eliminated by shooting, 55 dead tigers were seized, 22 got electrocuted and 33 poaching incidences were recorded.

Killing

A large number of tigers have been killed in medieval & colonial India to prove the pride, wealth, machismo and honour of the ruling elite. Shooting tigers was "a jolly-good sport". Post-independence, from 1947, India was hotspot for global hobby-hunters which accelerated the tiger killings till the Indian government banned it in 1972. The trophy-hunting industry in India at the time of ban was worth $4 million per year (equivalent of 432.8 million as of 2022)

Shikar

Establishment of

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

across the India saw rise in hunting the tiger as a sport for the elite. Mughal Emperor would often invite Mongol, Rajput, Turk and Afghan nobilities for Shikar of the Tiger, which was seen as worthwhile opponent who evoked fear. While the Indians worshiped as well as feared this King of the Jungle, it had to be killed by the foreign invaders as a mark of asserting supremacy during their rule.

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

preferred hunting tigers with

bow and arrow The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles ( arrows). Humans used bows and arrows for hunting and aggression long before recorded history, and the practice was comm ...

while riding on a horse back or on an elephant where as

Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

, who is known to have killed 86 tigers, went on foot for the hunt.

Jahangirnama Jahangirnameh ( fa, جهانگیرنامه "Story of Jahangir") is an epic poem in the Persian language which relates the story of Jahangir son of Rostam. It is composed in the same meter as the Shahnameh. The author mentions his name as Qāsem-e M� ...

claims Shikar of a total 28,532 animals and 13,964 birds in the hands of Jahangir with first his killing made at the age of 12. Mughals were known to maintain the records of their royal hunting expeditions (Shikar). Animal contests such as tiger vs horned buffaloes and tiger vs tiger were common during the era. Shikar employed the Mongol hunting tactic called Qamargah, in which many men served as "beaters" for encircling a huge area to drive-out and trap the tiger in fenced spot where the ruler sitting on a horse or elephant would kill the tiger. The hunter would often keep a part of tiger as trophy or souvenir. Once Akbar took 4000 soldiers with him for Shikar. All his courtiers, noblemen and even his harem accompanied him. Infrastructure similar to the royal palace was created in the middle of the jungle. Sometimes, the Shikar lasted for months. Many paintings were created on this theme to hail the ruler. Cock-fights and duelling of

pigeons Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

and rams were made available whenever the king felt bored.

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

s and

Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

s were reared as pets that assisted in making Shikar a success.

Big-Game Hunting

English naturalist

Richard Lydekker Richard Lydekker (; 25 July 1849 – 16 April 1915) was an English naturalist, geologist and writer of numerous books on natural history. Biography Richard Lydekker was born at Tavistock Square in London. His father was Gerard Wolfe Lydekker, ...

in the book ''The Royal Natural History'' wrote, "Tiger is so intimately associated with the characteristic of India that it will always - and rightly - be regarded as the special emblem of that country" British saw the killing of Tigers as an act of imperial subjugation of the Indian subcontinent. For the colonial rulers and British officers, the months of March, April and May was the Tiger-Hunting season as much of the grass would dry out during summer in the Northern India and chances of sighting and thus killing a tiger would be high. Big-game huntings are known to have killed around 9 tigers on an average day. They employed Shikaris (chief native trackers), Beaters along with Elephants & Mahouts (elephant handler) for their hunting expedition. It was ensured all the beaters are paid by the day, and each receives a gratuity if a tiger is killed. Monetary incentives lured native people to help foreigners in hunting games. An ordinary beater received from three to four paise a day when the beats have been blank, and double that amount when there has been a kill. There were generally be about fifty or sixty of them. Their leaders received double the above sums. The roots of this animosity and thirst for killing a tiger can be traced back to incidences like one happened in 1812 - when a party of British officers dining in a jungle near Madras was attacked by a tiger - in which a life was lost. This created a lasting panic and fear among the British. At every opportunity, they would avenge this "ferocious beast". In another instance of 1792, son of Sir Hector Munro was ambushed by a tiger and mauled to death when he was out in jungle to hunt deer. Being a higher authority in the Military, his response was to take revenge by officially authorizing mass killing of tigers. Many officers were either badly wounded or killed on their Big-Game expedition. This in turn led to other officers violently taking up against the tiger. British rulers directed native Indians to clear large areas of forests for timber and agriculture expansion. This increased the chances of man-tiger encounters which was otherwise rare. Only forest dwellers came in contact with usually shy and solitary tigers on regular basis but with no incidences of attacks. Loss of habitat and reduced number of preys often led tigers to venture out in human settlements where domestic cattle was an easy food. Increasing man-tiger conflict was seen by the British as a "problem to be solved". William Rice, a British Army Lieutenant at 25th Regiment Bombay Native Infantry, in his journal published in 1857 mentions his "bag" consisted of 156 heads of "large game" with 98 tigers, one of which measured 11 feet and 11 inches from end of its nose, between the ears to tip of its tail. He uses terms like "fearful ravages", "rapacious pests", "India infested with wild beasts" while equating their killing to "notorious evils" requiring "remedy" and "exterminate such brutes". William Rice describes tiger-shooting as the most exciting and glorious sport this world affords and wrote

''I enjoyed splendid opportunities of observing the habits of these animals and ascertaining how they may best be killed.''

Chambers's Journal ''Chambers's Edinburgh Journal'' was a weekly 16-page magazine started by William Chambers in 1832. The first edition was dated 4 February 1832, and priced at one penny. Topics included history, religion, language, and science. William was soo ...

of 1875 mentions Englishmen killing about 1200 tigers annually in the Bengal Province alone, which translates to more than 3 tigers a day. British physician Sir

Joseph Fayrer Sir Joseph Fayrer, 1st Baronet FRS FRSE FRCS FRCP KCSI LLD (6 December 1824 – 21 May 1907) was a British physician who served as Surgeon General in India. He is noted for his writings on medicine, work on public health and his studies par ...

notes that in 1876,

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

spent 43,598.12 rupees in killing 1,693 "noxious" tigers that were considered as "evil to be removed" so that "wild beasts will recede, and men will no longer worship, or reverence with superstitious awe, the creature that destroys them." He mentions that

Central Provinces The Central Provinces was a province of British India. It comprised British conquests from the Mughals and Marathas in central India, and covered parts of present-day Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra states. Its capital was Nagpur. ...

rewarded 50 rupees for killing a "full grown" tiger. Official records from Board of Revenue of

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

in 1876 shows 236 tigers were killed by the British which was almost similar to the number of tigers killed in 1875. From 1872-73, 391 tigers and before that 1866-69 an average of 186 tigers were killed each year as Madras Board of Revenue considered it "the bounden duty of government to do something for the destruction of wild animals and protection of life and property from their ravages." It rewarded up to 100 rupees for killing a tiger. Madras government briefly appointed Captain Caulfield with assistance of Inspector Mackenzie in Coimbatore district with a task of hunting down tigers in the area. The collector was instructed to ensure smooth hunting expeditions. The deputy commissioner of

Buldhana Buldhana is the district headquarters and a Municipal Council in the Buldhana District of Amravati division in the Indian State of Maharashtra. Climate Demographics As of the 2011 India census, Buldhana had a population of 67,431. Males con ...

in erstwhile

Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and t ...

remarked that the pace of hunting has made tiger extinct in his district. British officially killed 1,579 Tigers in the year 1878. In the year 1882, the British officials paid £4800 in rewards for killing 1,726 tigers.

Col. Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Julius Barras who spent 28 years serving as

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer in colonial India, in his 1883 memoir admits aspiring to a "little amusement in the great jungles of India" and about the costs involved in

big-game hunting Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game animals for meat, commercially valuable by-products (such as horns/antlers, furs, tusks, bones, body fat/oil, or special organs and contents), trophy/taxidermy, or simply just for recreation ("s ...

, he wrote:

''As nothing can be more dreary than life in an Indian military cantonment, it will surprise no one to learn that sporting incidents, such as tiger-shooting... will form the chief attraction of the present work. Tiger-shooting was my principal amusement, and, as it is an expensive pastime, I think I cannot begin better than by pointing out a few of the more costly preparations which must be made before this sport can be indulged in, and by also indicating a few contingencies that may easily arise, and cost the adventurer a good deal more than he may have anticipated. For tiger-shooting the best and most highly finished weapons are indispensable. What, for instance, is the use of the finest lock and barrels if the wood of the stock is not sufficiently seasoned to bear, without warping, the fierce heat to which it is exposed under a May sun in the hottest parts of the tropics. No; everything down to the cartridges and the lining of the coat pockets, in which most people carry them, should be carefully looked to, and no inefficiency tolerated for the sake of economy.'' ''Expenses such as the above can, of course, be reckoned upon before starting, but there are others of a less certain nature. Occasionally beaters are killed, and then the compensation paid to their families is often heavy. Or an elephant may be sacrificed, and then you would be expected to pay for him! But these are dismal considerations, and apt, perhaps, to damp the rising ardour! Still, if they are ever to be glanced at, surely it should be before we start on our wild career. Whatever may happen afterwards must be considered as part of the enjoyment, even if, like myself, we end in becoming crippled for life!''

In the year 1886, records show a total of 1,464 tigers were killed in British India. Lt.Col. J.C. Fife-Cookson who arrived in erstwhile India as the Adjutant of the 65th

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

of the British Army, begins his book ''Tiger-shooting in the Doon and Ulwar With Life in India'' (1887) by claiming there is no sport which is equal to tiger-shooting and the skin of the tiger, considered as a valuable trophy was reward of the hunting success. On his preference of going on hunt with one or two "friends" rather than being in a large team of hunting "sportsmen" and not willing to "sacrifice personal control and management of the expedition", he wrote:

''In tiger-hunting the scene of chase is in the beautiful and wild Indian jungles, pervaded as they are by a feeling of solitude and romance... The tiger is the most cunning animal in the jungle, and your wits are pitted against his intelligence and instinct, while the other element of danger is certainly not wanting in most of the plans of hunting him... If the sportsman has only one or two companions, he experiences the enjoyment of an individual share in the management of hunting... I would by all means prefer to go with one friend. In this case we would please ourselves instead of becoming mere shooting-machines acting under the instruction of the chief of a large party, who is always chosen on starting in order to secure unity of action, and who makes all the arrangements.''

Maharaja of Surguja killed 1,710 tigers in his hunting quests. George Yule, a British civil servant in

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

had killed more than 500 tigers during his administration. Sir Geoffrey Slingsby Nightingale, a colonel in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

shot more than 300 tigers while serving in India. For the Maharaja of

Rewa Rewa may refer to: Places Fiji * Rewa (Fijian Communal Constituency, Fiji), a former electoral division of Fiji * Rewa Plateau, between the Kaimur and Vindhya Ranges in Madhya Pradesh * Rewa Province, Fiji * Rewa River, the widest river in Fiji ...

, shooting of 109 tigers, with the advent to guns, was considered auspicious for a prince when he was newly crowned as the King of the state.

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

on his visit to Colonial India in 1911 for his grand coronation, killed 39 tigers in a matter of 10 days Skin of one of these is on display at the

Royal Albert Memorial Museum Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery (RAMM) is a museum and art gallery in Exeter, Devon, the largest in the city. It holds significant and diverse collections in areas such as zoology, anthropology, fine art, local and overseas archaeolo ...

. In 1921, Duke of Windsor is known to have shot 17 tigers in one week. The Maharaja of

Cooch Behar State Cooch Behar, also known as Koch Bihar, was a princely state in India during the British Raj. The state was placed under the Bengal States Agency, part of the Eastern States Agency of the Bengal Presidency. It is located south of the Hima ...

killed 365 tigers as a sport. Col J Macdonald of Bengal Army, Revenue Survey killed 70 tigers. F.B. Simson of Bengal Civil Services, hunted around 180 tigers. In 1924,

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

William Lendrum Mitchell, also known as "Father of

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

" was invited to colonial India as a guest of the then

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

, The Lord Irwin. He recounts his shooting of 2 tigers (9 feet 6 inch tigress and a 10 feet tiger) in two days and his wife killing one (a 10 feet 4 inch tiger) during a three day Big-Game Hunting with 800 beaters in Eastern India with Maharaja of Surjuga as ''

The Hindu religion prohibits the taking of life of most animals, and, besides, the natives are not allowed to keep firearms; so, in spite of the dense population, animals of all kinds are comparatively secure... The jungle beasts (read: tigers) of India are very ferocious, while the inhabitants are practically unarmed and are unwilling to kill most animals on account of their religion. A fact which forcibly impresses the western travellers in India is the proximity in which the indigenous people and the animals of the fields and forest live. Wild creatures of all sorts are found at the doors of the huts ... We had killed so many during our last three days that their pelts were not sufficiently dry to pack, so we had to spread them on top of the truck that was to carry our baggage south, allowing them to dry en route.

'' British officers often flaunted the size of their kill. Sir J.F. Yule have claimed killing tigers of "11 feet and odd inches" twice or thrice. Hon.J.R. Drummond, commissioner of Rohilkhand stated killing a 11 feet 9 inches tiger. Colonel D.G. Stewart affirmed hunting down a 11 feet 3 inch tiger. General Sir H. Green lay claim to assisting in killing of tiger in Surat that measured 11 feet 11 inch while he himself has shot a tiger of 10 feet 11 inches. Claude Clerk at Hyderabad is known to have killed a tiger measuring 11 feet 6 inches. However, Mr. C Shillongford who has hunted more than 200 tigers, declared killing a 12 feet 4 inch tiger in 1849 and another of 11 feet 4 inches in 1855. Sir Charles Reid claims hunting a 12 feet 3 inches tiger in Dehradun. Oriental Sporting Magazine of July edition in 1968 describes Mr. Henry Cave of Gondwara shooting down a 11 feet tiger. Mrs. Lawrie Johnstone stated shooting a tiger over 11 feet. Col Sleeman from Bengal Army said the trophy he possessed belonged to a tiger of size more than 12 feet which was killed in

Jabalpur Jabalpur is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. According to the 2011 census, it is the third-largest urban agglomeration in Madhya Pradesh and the country's 38th-largest urban agglomeration. J ...

. Col. H. Shakespeare held that two of his trophies belonged to tigers measuring 11 feet 8 inch and 11 feet 6 inch respectively.

Francis Trevelyan Buckland Francis Trevelyan Buckland (17 December 1826 – 19 December 1880), better known as Frank Buckland, was an English surgeon, zoologist, popular author and natural historian. He was born in a noted family of naturalists. After a brief career in ...

mentions in his book "Curiosities of Natural History" about presence of two 13 feet tigers and a 12 feet 7 inch tiger being killed by a British from 72 Highlanders. A tigress measuring 9 feet 6 inches is also mentioned. In the jungles of

Midnapore Medinipur or Midnapore (Pron: med̪iːniːpur) is a city known for its history in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the West Medinipur district. It is situated on the banks of the Kangsabati River (variously known as '' ...

, Maj. Gen. Sir W. R. Gilbert had killed a 12 feet 2.5 inch tiger in the year 1825. "Heroic" acts of killing this "destructive foe" and "dreadful savage" thereby liberating the country from "tiger infestation" were published in journals, memoirs, newspapers and even in sports magazines of the British Empire.

Poaching

Poachers kill tiger for its trade in body parts like skin, teeth, claws etc. which are highly sought after in the

Chinese traditional medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

and also used as display objects. A tigress scent-marks her vicinity with thick, pungent, musky fluid and announces her fertility to the other males in the area who compete for her. This makes a tigress vulnerable to poaching for her body parts to be used in making aphrodisiacs which is highly prevalent in China and Thailand. Some brothels in these countries are known to sell a sweet liquor steeped in tiger penis. Poachers in India kill and smuggle tigers to supply the increasing demands in neighboring country. Poachers are known to take advantage of man-tiger conflicts and kill the endangered animal with the help of troubled locals. Earliest available records shows that there was a high demand for tiger parts among the English people. In 1886, tiger parts were traded in European markets with its skin/fur sold for nearly £6 (equivalent to 600

pound sterling Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and t ...

in 2022) and its claw fetched about 5

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

(equivalent to £25 in 2022). Tigers exceeding 11 feet were of very high value. In 1950s, a tiger

pelt Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

was sold for $50 in India. With high exports and increasing fashion trends and demands, fur, rugs and coats made of tiger skin were sold for $10,000 in U.S. and Europe during 1960s. Around 1,000 Kg (2,200 pounds) of bones (estimated to be from 80 tigers) was seized in August 1993 at Delhi. The consignment was meant to be smuggled into China for their medicinal use. By June 2004, it came to light that none of the tigers in

Sariska Tiger Reserve Sariska Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve in Alwar district, Rajasthan, India. It stretches over an area of comprising scrub-thorn arid forests, dry deciduous forests, grasslands, and rocky hills. This area was a hunting preserve of the Alwar ...

survived in the protected area. However, government record showed presence of 18 tigers. This exposed the corruption and neglect in the Rajasthan Forest Department. Funds meant for conservation were siphoned off by the state government. Arrest of poachers revealed that killing the tigers in Sariska was easy job for them as the walkie-talkies of guards were non-functional and the check posts at wildlife areas manned by some 300 guards were abandoned during the monsoon season which provided easy access in and out of the tiger reserve for poaching. Security personnel with bamboo sticks or half-a-century old British era Lee-Enfield rifles often encountered poachers carrying Assault rifles and

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...

s. Tiger skin was most sought-after for ceremonial clothing in China-controlled Tibet. However, this practice was put to an end when the Tibetan spiritual leader,

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

denounced the ceremonial clothing made of tiger and leopard skin. In 2006, reports emerged showing Chinese police officers laughing and posing with people wearing clothing made of tiger skin. These were sold in open markets of China despite the trade ban under UN convention. It was also reported that China was considering to lift the ban on bone trade from tigers raised in farms which could have negative consequences on tigers in India as there was no way to differentiate the bones from wild Indian tigers. The report showed Chinese businessmen purchasing tiger skin for home decor. Certain communities in India are known for making fake tiger claws using the bones of livestock due to their high demand and value. 2018 survey showed high poaching cases at Amdarbad, Dampa, Dudhwa, Kanha, Melghat, Nagarhole, Palamau, Pench, Rajaji, Srisailam (NSTR) and Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserves.

Human-Eaters

On 2 November 2018, a tigress named Avni (officially known as T1, age 6 years) who had two 10-month-old cubs was shot and killed near Borati village in the Yavatmal forests after more than a month-long search operation by a controversial civilian hunter Ashgar Ali Khan, son of India's most famous hunter Nawab Shafath Ali Khan, in collaboration with Maharashtra state forest department when she was accused of being a human-eater for past year and a half, held responsible for the death of 13 locals since June 2016. This reserve forest at Yavatmal has no records of having any tiger before and is 170 sq km patch that forms a part of greater Vidarbha tiger landscape and has Tipeshwar wildlife sanctuary nearby.

Forensic investigation Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and crimina ...

and

DNA analysis Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

linked Avni to 5 of the 13 people died in the animal attack. All efforts of finding the tigress with

sniffer dogs A detection dog or sniffer dog is a dog that is trained to use its senses to detect substances such as explosives, illegal drugs, wildlife scat, currency, blood, and contraband electronics such as illicit mobile phones. The sense most used by d ...

Thermal Imaging Infrared thermography (IRT), thermal video and/or thermal imaging, is a process where a thermal camera captures and creates an image of an object by using infrared radiation emitted from the object in a process, which are examples of infrared i ...

drones, elephant patrolling and luring the tigress with cologne scent were unsuccessful as the area had heavy growth of

Lantana camara ''Lantana camara'' (common lantana) is a species of flowering plant within the verbena family (Verbenaceae), native to the American tropics. It is a very adaptable species, which can inhabit a wide variety of ecosystems; once it has been introduc ...

which made it easy for the her to hide and take cover. Presence of one more tiger was also known in the region. Apparently, the citizens appealed to the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Ram Nath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind (; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician who served as the 14th President of India from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the second person after K. R. Narayanan, from the Dalit community ...

and the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

to protect the tigress by running a campaign #''LetAvniLive'' and several marches in cities across the nation. It is said that the killing orders were issued to clear the land from tiger occupancy so that industries could be set up in the area.

Post-mortem An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any dis ...

reports suggested she was killed by single bullet wound and no attempts were made to tranquilize or capture the tigress while still being alive. The forest department personnel are equipped and trained with tranquilising guns to capture the protected animal alive but still a private hunter was brought in to kill and later rewarded. Many violations of standard protocols were committed in this incidence. (1) The orders were issued in the name of the father but his son shot the tigress. (2) Such operations begin with sunrise and end at sunset. Tigress was killed in the Night. (3) At time of killing, wildlife veterinarian or any senior forest department official were not present with the hunting team. (4) In a statement, the team mentioned attempt to tranquilize the tigress failed and when she attacked, the person shot the tigress in self defense. How the "scheduled drug" used to sedate the tigress was handled in absence of a trained vet or wildlife expert raises doubts. (5) Spot panchanama suggests the possibility of manual piercing of dart into the skin. (6) Tigress body had no signs of resistance.

Habitat Loss

In the past 100 years, tigers have lost almost 93% of their global historic habitat ranges in the wild. Habitat loss leads to fragmentation and isolation of existing population. Having increased agricultural areas that surround forests and other reserved areas act as an extension of natural habitats which results in tiger-human conflict which tragically results in both human fatalities and retaliatory killing of tigers Sunderban is known for abundant tigers and its preys. The world's largest mangrove forest area is threatened by clearing of trees to meet charcoal demand and for prawn fishing in the swamps. Construction of floating hotels and floating casinos are proposed along with helipad and golf course by tourist company that will have adverse effect on the delicate ecosystem by disrupting the traditional symbiotic way of life and livelihood of people living in the region. 2018 survey showed Tiger Reserves at Achanakamar, Buxa, Dudhwa, Mukundara, Panna, Rajaji, Sanjay-Dubri, Sariska, and Udanti-Sitanadi are facing pressure due to livestock overgrazing.

Population

Tigers have the potential to expand its population rapidly. A female tiger attains sexual maturity at the age of three and can produce litters of usually 2 or 3 but up to 6 or 7 fast growing cubs after a gestation of only three and a half months. If all the newborns in litter die, the female tiger can give birth to the next litter within five months. Juvenile mortality rate is high among the tigers with about 50% cubs not surviving till the second year. Cubs remain with their mothers up to the age of two. Male tigers become sexually active after the age of four. At the most, lifespan of a tiger may reach up to 20 years. In 1900s, at the beginning of the century, more than 100,000 Bengal Tigers were believed to have roamed all over the country. While some estimates put the number to a more conservative figure of 80,000. Artists in

Taxidermy Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proce ...

Van Ingen & Van Ingen Van Ingen & Van Ingen, simply Van Ingen, or Van Ingen of Mysore (1900–1999) were Indian taxidermists located in Mysore, South India, best known for their tiger and leopard taxidermy trophy mounts. ''A History of Taxidermy. Art, science and bad t ...

of Mysore accounts to having stuffed more than 25,000 tigers in first 50 years of their business. More than 50,000 tigers were estimated in 1930. From 1930s onwards, factory records reveal that Van Ingen & Van Ingen would process over 400 Tigers per year till 1960s. At the time of Independence from British Rule, India had estimated around 40,000 tigers in the year 1947. The first country-wide tiger census in 1972 put the numbers to 1,827 tigers. Implementation of Project Tiger saw the tiger population to rise up to 3,500 in the 1990s. For the year 2018-19, estimation was 2,967 tigers in the wild with over half of the population found in the states of

and

put together. India saw a 44% surge in tiger deaths in the 10 years 2011-21 with 1059 deaths in the time period. Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of deaths in these ten years, followed by Maharshtra and Karnataka. The number of deaths have increased from 88 in 2012 to 127 in 2021.

Tiger Signs

Presence of the tiger can be confirmed by observing the following seven signs #

Pugmark Pugmark is the term used to refer to the footprint of most animals (especially megafauna). "Pug" means foot in Hindi (Sanskrit पद् "pad"; Greek πούς "poús"). Every individual animal species has a distinct pugmark and as such this is use ...

Trails #

Scats The Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System, abbreviated SCATS, is an intelligent transportation system that manages the dynamic (on-line, real-time) timing of signal phases at traffic signals, meaning that it tries to find the best phasing (i ...

Faeces Feces ( or faeces), known colloquially and in slang as poo and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a relati ...

(''Old'': dry with hair and bones visible, ''Fresh'': dry but intact with shiny surface, ''Very Fresh'': soft, moist, and smelly) #Scrapes # Scent marks (spray, rolling) #Rake marks on trunks #Actual sighting #Roaring

Tiger Census

After the Sariska incident in 2004-05, where all the tigers were lost due to poaching but the official records showed presence of tiger population based on the pugmark census, Tiger Task Force (TTF) was constituted which recommended changes in the population assessment method. With several methodologies available for conducting tiger census and lack of uniform data collection methodology and information on survey often results in difficulty to make comparisons or draw inferences from such data. It demands for a good scientific design in implementing an effective monitoring scheme for tigers and their habitats. The forest department has been making use of

Camera Traps A camera trap is a camera that is automatically triggered by a change in some activity in its vicinity, like presence of an animal or a human being. It is typically equipped with a motion sensor – usually a passive infrared (PIR) sensor ...

, GPS,

Pedometer A pedometer, or step-counter, is a device, usually portable and electronic or electromechanical, that counts each step a person takes by detecting the motion of the person's hands or hips. Because the distance of each person's step varies, an i ...

s and other modern equipment in the tiger population studies. The 2018-19 assessment (fourth cycle) done in 20 states covering 381,400 sq km area which was divided in 317,958 habitat plots with an investment of 620,795 man-days is considered to be the world's largest wildlife survey ever undertaken that put the nation-wide population estimate at 2,967 tigers (SE range 2,603 to 3,346). 65% of total tiger population (1,923) were found inside the Tiger Reserves. The exercise of tiger census is done once every four years. From the fifth cycle of population estimation, during 2022, India is making use of digital means in the form of M-STrIPES application. Population estimates in India since implementation of the new assessment methodology is

M-STrIPES

Monitoring System for Tigers: Intensive Protection and Ecological Status (M-STrIPES) is a digital platform used by the forest frontline staff which facilitates patrolling, assesses ecological status and aids in mitigating human-wildlife conflict in and around tiger reserves effectively. The M-STrIPES program uses GPS,

General Packet Radio Service General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is a packet oriented mobile data standard on the 2G and 3G cellular communication network's global system for mobile communications (GSM). GPRS was established by European Telecommunications Standards Inst ...

(GPRS), and remote sensing, to collect information from the field and creates a database using modern Information Technology (IT) based tools. Later, the collected data is used to analyze the information using GIS and statistical tools to provide inferences that allow tiger reserve managers to improve their wildlife managerial protocols.

Camera Traps

Camera traps are photographic devices equipped with motion sensors which captures the image or video when any animal passes nearby. The

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

recognized the country's efforts as the world's largest camera trap survey of wildlife in 2018-19. Across 141 different sites and in 26,838 locations, these camera traps were set up to survey an area of 121,337 square kilometers capturing 34,858,623 photographs of wildlife in which 76,651 were tigers. These images were then fed to a stripe-pattern-recognition software which identified 2,461 individual tigers (excluding cubs).

TX2

White tiger at Nandankanan Odisha, India

TX2 (Tiger times 2) goal is the global commitment driven by

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

(formerly World Wildlife Fund, WWF) and undertaken by 13 range governments at the St Petersburg Tiger Summit (2010) to double the global tiger population in the wild by 2022 by giving priority, effort, innovation and investment for the recovery of tiger population. India achieved this TX2 feat in 2018, four years ahead of the set target. In order to bring the countries together for prioritizing tiger conservation and management globally, Global Tiger Day celebration was announced on 29 July at St Petersburg Tiger Summit 2010.

Polymorphism

Sometimes a tiger with fur colour other than classical orange is recorded in India. These can be

Black tiger A black tiger is a rare colour variant of the tiger, and is not a distinct species or geographic subspecies. Description There are reports and one painting (now lost) of pure black non-striped tigers (true melanistic tigers). Most black mammal ...

Golden tiger A golden tiger, sometimes called a golden tabby tiger, is a tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange ...

White tiger The white tiger or bleached tiger is a leucistic pigmentation variant of the Mainland tiger. It is reported in the wild from time to time in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, in the Sunderbans region and ...

variants. This polymorphism is due to genetic reasons. 2018 survey found pictures captured in camera-traps of a golden tiger in Kaziranga Tiger Reserve and a black phenotype in Similipal Tiger Reserve.

Conservation

As an apex predator, tigers are indicators of a healthy ecosystem. Conservation of tigers ensure the sustenance of healthy populations of herbivores and other carnivores. Survival of tigers in the wild is dependent on the conservation and management efforts. On 1 April 1973, Government of India launched Project Tiger ''to ensure maintenance of a viable population of Tigers in India for scientific, economic, aesthetic, cultural and ecological values, and to preserve for all times, areas of biological importance as a national heritage for the benefit, education and enjoyment of the people.'' Implementation of this conservation project over the years has highlighted the need for statutory institutional mechanism with administrative powers and legal backing which resulted in creation of

(NTCA) on 4 September 2006. Highest degree of protection to tiger is provided under this law. Committed goal-oriented efforts and investment in tiger conservation have produced desirable results. India has signed bilateral agreements China, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Russia to address issues of mutual concern for Tiger conservation. To deal with reintroduction and supplementation in the areas that were once known for presence of tigers but presently have none or reduced tiger density, NTCA in 2022, released SOP titled, Tiger Reintroduction and Supplementation in Wild Protocol which has taken into account the scientific knowledge on the topic and conditions that are typical to India in order to effectively achieve the objective.

Securing Habitat

Protected Areas (PA) were set up in India that served as refuge for the wild animals who were threatened by habitat loss due to anthropological pressures. Some of these protected areas were later identified as reserves. Tigers require vast region of undisturbed terrain with sufficient prey numbers so that they can repopulate and maintain the stable demographic and genetic continuance. In 1973, nine

tiger reserves The tiger reserves of India were set up in 1973 and are governed by Project Tiger, which is administrated by the National Tiger Conservation Authority. Until 2018, 50 protected areas have been designated tiger reserves. In 2022, 53rd tiger reserve ...

were declared as protected under law with cumulative area of approximately 18,278 sq.km. By 2018, it was expanded to fifty tiger reserves with nearly 72,749 sq.km. of protected area which formed about 2.21% of India's total geographical area. As of July 2022, India has created 52 tiger reserves. These tiger reserves have played important role in the success of Project Tiger since its inception. Preventing

habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological processes ...

and effectively managing the area under conversation benefits the wildlife. According to 2018 survey, tiger occupancy was found to be stable at an area 88,985 sq km across the country since 2014 estimate (88,558 sq km).

Tiger Reserves

A "tiger reserve" is legally mandated to designate a critical "core area" wherein human interference is strictly prohibited. A "buffer zone" surrounds the core-area, wherein conservation intent is to be prioritized over other land uses. Breeding populations of tigers are extensively in the core area of tiger reserves. The size of these tiger reserves in India vary between 344 sq. km. to 3,150 sq. km. with an average area of average 1,321 sq. km. 2018 assessment shows

Corbett Tiger Reserve Jim Corbett National Park is a national park in India located in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand state. The first national park in India, it was established in 1936 during the British Raj and named ''Hailey National Park'' after Willia ...

with the largest population of about 231 tigers. Tiger Reserves at

Bandhavgarh Bandhavgarh National Park is a national park of India, located in the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh. Bandhavgarh, with an area of , was declared a national park in 1968 and then became Tiger Reserve in 1993. The current core area is spread ov ...

Bandipur Bandipur () is a hilltop settlement and a Rural municipality (Nepal), rural municipality in Tanahu District, Tanahun District, Gandaki Province, Gandaki province of Nepal. Bandipur is primarily known for its preserved, old time cultural atmosphe ...

Nagarhole Nagarahole National Park is a national park located in Kodagu district and Mysore district in Karnataka, India. This park was declared the 37th Tiger Reserve of India in 1999. It is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The Western Ghats N ...

Mudumalai Mudumalai National Park is a national park in the Nilgiri Mountains in Tamil Nadu, south India. It covers at an elevation range of in the Nilgiri District and shares boundaries with the states of Karnataka and Kerala. A part of this area h ...

and

Kaziranga Kaziranga National Park is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India. The park, which hosts two-thirds of the world's great one-horned rhinoceroses, is a World Heritage Site. According to the census held i ...

each had over a hundred tigers while Dudhwa, Kanha,

Tadoba The Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve is a wildlife sanctuary in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra state in India. It is Maharashtra's oldest and largest national park. Created in 1955, the reserve includes the Tadoba National Park and the Andhari ...

Sathyamangalam Sathyamangalam (also known as Sathy) is a town and municipality in Erode district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. 8 th century Town. It lies on the banks of the River Bhavani, a tributary of the River Cauvery in the foothills of the West ...

and

Sundarbans Sundarbans (pronounced ) is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Baleswar River in Bangladesh's division of Khulna to the Hooghly R ...

Tiger Reserves had over 80 tigers each.

Buxa Buxa is a village in the Alipurduar district of West Bengal within Buxa Tiger Reserve. It is located from Alipurduar, the nearest town. It is known for the Buxa Fort Buxa Fort is located at an altitude of in the Buxa Tiger Reserve, in the K ...

and Dampa Tiger Reserves showed absence of population as these places are historically known for their poor tiger status. Deficiency in tiger numbers was seen at

Indravati Indravati River is a tributary of the Godavari River, in central India. The Indravati River is a stream of the river Godavari. Its starting point, found to be the Ghats of Dandakaranya, range from a hilltop village Mardiguda of Thuamula Ra ...

, Udanti-Sitanadi and Achanakmar Tiger Reserves owing to unsatisfactory law and order situation. Tiger numbers at other places like Amrabad, Anshi Dandeli, Buxa, Dampa,

Kawal Kawal may refer to: Places * Kawal, Uttar Pradesh, a village in India * Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary, in Telangana, India People * Kawal Rhode, English biomedical engineer * Kawal Sharma Kawal Sharma is an Indian film director and Film produc ...

, Manas, Nagarjunsagar Sri Sailam, Nameri, Pakke,

Palamau Palamu district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India. It was formed in 1892. The administrative headquarter of the district is Medininagar (formerly DaltonGanj), situated on the Koel River. History The Palamu district ha ...

, Sanjay-Dubri and Similipal Tiger Reserves are below their potential. Targeted management with enhanced resources can yield positive results.

Core, Buffer and Corridor

Tiger conservation follows the principle of "core-buffer-corridor". Core area is highly protected while buffer zones are in the periphery of the core area. Buffer area is meant for multiple use with community participation for supporting tiger conservation. Corridors are the areas between the larger reserved forests which serves as the connecting geographical section of habitat that enables wildlife to move freely through the landscape. However, many of these corridors are not designated as protected areas and are prone to degradation due unsustainable human activities and developmental projects undertaken in these eco-sensitive areas. NTCA has prioritized the protection, conservation and development of corridors at the national level due to its significance in ensuring tiger population growth. These corridors would ensure genetic exchange through dispersal. The corridors would also serve to guard against extinction risks caused by environmental and man-made factors.

Nature Conservation Foundation The Nature Conservation Foundation is a non-governmental wildlife conservation and research organisation based in Mysore, India. They promote the use of science for wildlife conservation in India. History The Nature Conservation Foundation was ...

under the grant of Project Tiger is working on the conservation of corridors in Cauvery-MM Hills-BR Hills landscape. Funds from Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) are being utilized for promoting voluntary village resettlement from core areas of the Tiger Reserves.

Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CA, TS)

In 2020, the NTCA and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India have announced the adoption of the Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CA, TS) to all the tiger reserves covering over 7000 sq. km. land area which sets minimum standards to manage tiger species, and encourages assessments to benchmark progress. As of July 2021, 14 Tiger Reserves in India - Manas, Kaziranga, Orang, Satpura, Pench, Kanha, Panna, Valmiki, Dudhwa, Parambikulam, Mudumalai, Bandipur, Anamalai and Sundarbans - have been awarded with international CA, TS accreditation. Efforts are on to bring in more Tiger Reserves under CA, TS accreditation.

Anti-Poaching Activities

Wildlife Conservation Trust - Save Our Tigers

The tiger is also protected under the

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

of Wild Fauna and Flora (

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

). Use of technology to improve patrolling and monitoring the tiger reserves reduces the poaching incidents. Better equipping the rangers of the forest decreases the threat of poaching and ensures the area is a safe haven for tigers and other wildlife moving through it. Forest officials on efficient vigil with M-STrIPES implementation, use of wireless communication devices, suitable gears and weapons for patrolling guards is important to boost the morale and increase the show of strength in vulnerable Protected Areas.

Reducing Tiger-Human Conflict

While increase in the population leads tiger often breaching the formal protected areas of forests and roam outside the reserve perimeter to establish a new territory, the natural habitat destruction results in the decline of prey numbers hence the tiger looks for its food in human settlements. Both leads to increase in events of Tiger-Human conflicts. Research Institutes like

Wildlife Institute of India The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is an autonomous natural resource service institution established in 1982 under the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate change, Government of India. WII carries out wildlife research in areas of stu ...

are playing key role in studying and aiding government initiatives to bring down the number of such untoward instances. India is working on a plan to use

LIDAR Lidar (, also LIDAR, or LiDAR; sometimes LADAR) is a method for determining ranges (variable distance) by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver. It can also be ...

based survey technology to reduce the incidence of conflict.

Sustainable Livelihood Development

Maharashtra Forest Department has effectively managed to reduce the tiger-human conflict with the help of NGOs and grassroots organisations in providing the alternate source of energy and livelihood thereby reducing the dependence of local people on the forest resources and ensuring maintenance of forest cover for the long term survival of 200 odd tigers in their territory. Both conservation and development can happen in a mutually complementary manner. India needs to prosper both economically and environmentally. Implementation of community-based ecotourism model provides livelihood opportunities to the locals around the Tiger Reserves.

Raising Awareness

Civil society organisations and NGOs often join hands with local population to motivate them to support the conservation efforts. Local youth often support the forest staff in patrolling and wildlife monitoring.

(WWF),

Wildlife Protection Society of India The Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) was founded in 1994 by Belinda Wright, its Executive Director, who was an award-winning wildlife photographer and filmmaker till she took up the cause of conservation. From its inception, WPSI's ...

(WPSI) and

Wildlife Conservation Society The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a non-governmental organization headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, that aims to conserve the world's largest wild places in 14 priority regions. Founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological ...

(WCS) are some of the organizations working actively in the Indian tiger conservation forefront.

Trivia

*Machhali, a famous Bengal tigress from the

Ranthambore National Park Ranthambore National Park is a national park in Rajasthan, India, with an area of . It is bounded to the north by the Banas River and to the south by the Chambal River. It is named after the historic Ranthambore Fort, which lies within the park ...

, is the most widely photographed tiger in the world.

Common names

Mythology and Culture

History

Habitat and Ecology

Landscapes

Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Plains

Central India and Eastern Ghats

The Western Ghats

North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra Flood Plains

Sundarban

Decline

Killing

Shikar

Big-Game Hunting

Poaching

Human-Eaters

Habitat Loss

Population

Tiger Signs

Tiger Census

M-STrIPES

Camera Traps

TX2

Polymorphism

Conservation

Securing Habitat

Tiger Reserves

Core, Buffer and Corridor

Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CA, TS)

Anti-Poaching Activities

Reducing Tiger-Human Conflict

Sustainable Livelihood Development

Raising Awareness

Trivia

See also

References

Further reading