Declining Number of Tigers

• 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.

• World Tiger Day is observed every year on 29^th July.

Initiatives for the Protection of Tiger

Project 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.

Global Tiger Forum (GTF)

• 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.

Global Tiger Recovery Program

• 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).

TX2 Goal

• Target: To double the number of wild tigers.
• Supporting Agency: World Wildlife Foundation (WWF).

Conservation Assured | Tiger Standards (CA|TS)

• 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.

Global Tiger Initiative (GTI)

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