Animal conservation experts believe that India may have less than 1,500 tigers left — that is half the population from just five years ago.
Conservationists are performing a state by state census of tiger populations in India and expect to have final results in December. However, tiger experts are estimating that there are only between 1,300 and 1,500 tigers left in the country. Wildlife experts and government officials agree on the estimate, which is a severe drop from the 2002 tiger population — 3,700 tigers.
If the census is still going on, how do the conservationists have this estimate? Technology like camera traps supplements paw prints in making tiger population surveys. Experts believe that the new measuring technology can’t be directly compared with old methods, but the large drop in tiger numbers is evident regardless of what method is used.
India has twenty-eight tiger sanctuaries. After half the sanctuaries were counted by the Wildlife Institute of India, only 500 tigers were found. Five years ago, the total sanctuary tiger population was around 1,500.
Why is the tiger population in decline? Wildlife experts see several causes:
- Tigers in wild areas are not safe from poachers.
- Tigers in sanctuaries are not safe from poachers.
- Urbanization has taken away wild tiger habitats.
- Loss of forest cover has taken away wild tiger habitats.
- Tiger parts are used in many traditional medicines, and are still being traded on the black market despite being banned in 1993.
- There aren’t enough forestry staff members to keep up with poachers.
- Forestry and conservation programs need more funding.
India is working on setting up regional offices for a wildlife crime control bureau in the hopes of cutting down on poaching. The Indian Prime Minister called for a stronger effort in protecting tiger habitats. There is hope that the remaining tiger population will be preserved and protected.