Policy on Environment and Ecology
Tiger Census
- As many as 306 tigers were recorded in Tamil Nadu in the nation-wide census by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for the year 2022. This is an increase from the figure 264, recorded in the 2018 survey.
- The NTCA report also showed a population of 3,682 tigers across India, an increase from a mere 1,411 in 2006.
- According to the NTCA’s ‘Management Effectiveness Evaluation’ (MEE) report released in April, Tamil Nadu’s Anamalai Tiger Reserve and Mudumalai Tiger Reserve were among the top 12 tiger reserves, out of 51 surveyed in the country, ranked ‘excellent’.
- As per the report, only the Western Ghats showed a decline in tiger numbers.
- India’s tiger population increased to 3,682 in 2022, up from 2,967 in 2018, show an estimate released recently.
- This is an upward revision from April, when a minimum of 3,167 animals were estimated by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), which coordinates the quadrennial tiger census.
- In 2022, the highest number of tigers, 785, was reported to be in Madhya Pradesh, followed by Karnataka (563), Uttarakhand (560) and Maharashtra (444).
- Nearly a quarter of the tigers were reportedly outside protected areas.
- India’s tigers are largely concentrated in 53 dedicated tiger reserves spread across 75,796 square km, spanning about 2.3% of India’s total land area.
- The reserves with the most number of tigers were the Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, which reported 260 animals, followed by Bandipur (150) and Nagarhole (141), both in Karnataka.
- India’s tiger numbers have been increasing at 5% to 6% each year.
