Declining Number of Tigers

Dec 27, 2023

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Table of contents

Context (DTE): According to Wildlife Protection Society of India, India lost a record 204 tigers in 2023.

Reasons: Natural and other causes, Poaching, Infighting, etc.
Tiger is the largest cat species in the world. It is both an umbrella and flagship species.
Subspecies: There are eight recognised subspecies of tigers, out of which three are extinct.
1. Bengal tiger: Indian subcontinent
2. Amur tiger: Amur Rivers region of Russia and China, and North Korea
3. South China tiger: South central China.
4. Sumatran tiger: Sumatra, Indonesia.
5. Indo-Chinese tiger: Continental south-east Asia.
6. Caspian tiger: Turkey through central and west Asia (extinct).
7. Javan tiger: Java, Indonesia (extinct).
8. Bali tiger: Bali, Indonesia (extinct).
Habitat: Forest, savanna, shrubland, grassland, wetlands (inland), and coastal/supratidal areas.
Countries with most tigers: 1^st India > 2^nd Russia > 3^rd Indonesia > 4^th Nepal > 5^th Thailand
Conservation Status:
- IUCN Red List: Endangered
- CITES: Appendix I
- Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I
Threats: Habitat loss, climate change, human-wildlife conflict, inbreeding, diseases, hunting, grazing, mining, infrastructure development, tiger farms (big cats are held captive for breeding and sale), etc.

Keystone species: A species whose addition to or loss from an ecosystem leads to major changes in the occurrence of at least one other species.
Flagship species: A species chosen to represent an environmental cause, such as an ecosystem in need of conservation.

Initiatives for the Protection of Tiger

It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
It was launched in 1973 for in-situ conservation of wild tigers in designated tiger reserves.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has an overarching supervisory role, performing functions as provided under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

It is the only inter-governmental, international body working exclusively for the conservation of Tigers in the Wild. It is a forum of 13 tiger range countries.
Goal: Doubling wild tigers count by 2022. India achieved this target in 2018, 4 years ahead of deadline.

It is an ambitious and visionary species conservation goal set by the governments of the 13 tiger range countries during the St Petersburg Summit 2010 (St. Petersburg Declaration).

An initiative of the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), it is a set of criteria that allows tiger sites to check if their management will lead to successful tiger conservation.

It was launched in 2008 as a global alliance of governments, civil society and conservation and scientific communities to save wild tigers from extinction.