K’taka Forests have 563 tigers:2nd state after MP

Shyam Sundar Vattam/NT

Bengaluru: It is official. Karnataka has 563 tigers and became the second state after Madhya Pradesh in having the maximum tiger population in the country.

The Tiger Census report which was made public on Saturday on the occasion of World Tiger Day, indicated that the largest tiger population of 785 is in Madhya Pradesh, followed by Karnataka (563) & Uttarakhand (560), and Maharashtra (444).

The tiger abundance within the Tiger Reserve is highest in Corbett (260), followed by Bandipur (150), Nagarhole (141), Bandhavgarh (135), Dudhwa (135), Mudumalai(114), Kanha (105), Kaziranga (104), Sundarbans (100), Tadoba (97), Sathyamangalam (85), and Pench-MP (77).

The report said with analysis of data, done by the Wildlife Institute of India, from both cameratrapped and non-cameratrapped tiger presence areas, the upper limit of the tiger population is estimated to be 3925 and the average number is 3682 tigers, reflecting a commendable annual growth rate of 6.1% per annum.

Central India and the Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Plains witnessed notable increases in tiger population, particularly in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Maharashtra. However, certain regions, such as the Western Ghats, experienced localized declines, necessitating targeted monitoring and conservation efforts.

Some states, including Mizoram, Nagaland, Jharkhand, Goa, Chhattisgarh, and Arunachal Pradesh, have reported disquieting trends with small tiger populations. Various tiger reserves have shown remarkable growth, while others face challenges.

Approximately 35% of the tiger reserves urgently require enhanced protection measures, habitat restoration, ungulate augmentation, and subsequent tiger reintroduction. To preserve ecological integrity, there is a need to strongly continue the eco-friendly development agenda, minimize mining impacts, and rehabilitate mining sites.

Additionally, fortifying protected area management, intensifying anti-poaching measures, employing scientific thinking and technology-driven data collection, and addressing human-wildlife conflicts are vital steps to protect the country’s tiger populations.

India’s Project Tiger has made tremendous progress in tiger conservation over the past five decades, but challenges like poaching are still a threat to tiger conservation.

Continued efforts to protect tiger habitats and corridors are crucial for securing the future of India’s tigers and their ecosystems for generations to come.