Project_Tiger_in_India

Project Tiger in India Project Tiger was incorporated in 1973 with nine tiger reserves covering an area of 16,339 sq.km., which has increased to 37,761 sq.km. in 27 Tiger Reserves. The budgetary provision of the Government of India during 1973 was only Rs. 23 million, which has increased to 230 million during 2000-2001. In the beginning of the 1970s, once tiger hunting had officially been banned in India, a tiger count was done across the entire country. This lead to the astonishing discovery that only 1800 specimens of this magnificent animal were left. This jolted the concerned authorities and some serious thought went into devising plans to save the tiger. The result was the launch of "Project Tiger" in 1972 at the Dhikala Forest Rest House in Corbett National Park. The main idea behind the project was to provide safe havens for tigers where they could flourish as a species and hopefully reverse the startling decline in their population. The project initially had 9 parks that were chosen for it's implementation. This number has slowly risen and a total of 19 parks are now attached to the project. The project was begun in association with and still receives its main funding from the WWF. Although the experts affirm that the project has its shortcomings, the increase in the populations of the tiger is clearly evident to even the common man. Many experts had predicted that the tiger would be extinct by the turn of the century, but, whoever may be responsible, the tiger has proudly proved them wrong. Tiger population may not still be in thrilling numbers and poaching still may be quite rampant but a lot more effort is being put into saving this beautiful animal. This is good news for the entire natural treasure of the country because if the tiger flourishes, so will the jungle and vice-versa. Problems faced by Tiger Reserves: Legend & Lore: In India tiger skins were & are still valued by black magicians as a seat during meditation. In China, various parts of tiger's body, from its collar bone to its whiskers, find wide variety of applications in medicine. Thus poaching & smuggle of tigers are the results of which. Extractive Industries like mining & manufacturing units: such as power plants cannot coexist with either the tiger or its prey species. The insidious encroachment of development projects on the reserves represents an irreversible ecological transition. The relationship with the local villagers: is the "weak spot" of the entire project. Villagers were relocated from the core areas of the tiger reserves without providing them alternative access for grazing or fuel collection. |Name of the Tiger Reserves in Tiger range states with year of creation and area | |SNo. |Year of Creation | |POPULATION OF TIGERS IN THE TIGER RESERVES AS REPORTED BY THE STATES | |S.NO. | What is an Endangered species' Endangered means danger of the species becoming extinct or dying out. Tigers are facing major population losses & extinction. Tigers are killed for sport, skins & body parts. The 1950s saw extinction of the Caspian tiger. The Bali and Java tiger are also extinct. The last Bali tiger was killed in 1937; the last Javan tiger was seen in 1972. India today has the largest number of tigers, with between 3,600 to 4,000. The South China tiger (20-30 are remaining), is nearly extinct in the wild. Reasons for the Endangered Status The Bengal tiger is endangered because it is poached for its body parts to cater to an illegal market. Another reason is habitat loss due to depletion of forest cover interference of humans and encrochment of forest land by people causing fragmentation. At the turn of the century, there were almost reportedly 40,000 tigers in India, but now only around 4,000 remain in the wild. Why Save Tigers' Tiger is symbol of wilderness and well-being of the ecosystem. By conserving and saving tigers the entire wilderness ecosystem is conserved. In nature, barring human beings and their domesticates, rest of the ecosystem is wild. Hence conserving wilderness is important and crucial to maintain the life support system. So saving tiger amounts to saving the ecosystem which is crucial for man's own survival