Study finds India doubled its tiger population in a decade and credits conservation efforts

Bangaluru, India (AP)-India has doubled the population of the tiger more than a decade by protecting large cats from overfishing and losing habitats, and ensuring that they have enough, found a study published on Thursday.

The number of tigers grew by about 1,706 tigers in 2010 to about 3682 in 2022, according to estimates of the National Tiger Preservation Authority, making India home to about 75 % of the population of the global tiger. The study found that some local communities near the tiger habitats also benefited from the increase in tigers due to the traffic and revenues achieved by environmental tourism.

The study in Science says that the success of India “provides important lessons for the countries of the Tiger,” that preservation efforts can benefit from biological diversity and nearby societies.

“The common belief is that the human density prevents the increase in the population of the tiger,” said Yadndradev Jhala, a great scientist in the National Indian Academy in Bangaluru and the lead author of the study.

Wildlife conservation specialists and environmental scientists welcomed the study, but they said that the tigers and other wildlife in India will benefit from providing the source data to a greater group of scientists. The study was based on the data collected by the institutions supported by the Indian government.

Arjun Jobalasi, an environment scientist and has experience in estimating the residents of wildlife, said that estimates from the official tiger monitoring program in India were “chaotic” and “contradictory”. He said that some of the numbers in the study are much higher than previous estimates to distribute the tiger from the same data groups. But he added that the results of the paper have been corrected by anomalies that have been marked again and again by scientists since 2011 regarding the size and geographical spread of the tiger.

The tigers disappeared in some areas that were not near national parks, wildlife reserves, or other protected areas, and in areas that witnessed an increase in urbanization, increased human use of forest resources and the high frequency of armed conflicts, according to the study. Jala said: “Without supporting society, participation and societal advantages, conservation is not possible in our country,” said Jala.

Tigers spread along the length of about 138,200 square kilometers (53359 square miles) in India, from the size of New York State. But only 25 % of the region is rich in prey and reserve, and 45 % of the tiger habitats are shared with about 60 million people, according to the study.

Jala said that the legislation of strong wildlife protection is the “spine” to preserve the tiger in India. He said: “Habbitants are not a restriction, it is the quality of habitats and it is a restriction.”

Wild biologist Ravi Chilam, who was not part of the study, said that although efforts to maintain the tiger are promising, she needs to extend it to other types to better maintain the entire ecosystems.

“There are many species, including the great Indian Bustard and Caracal, which are all on the edge of the abyss. There is not enough focus on it,” said Chilim.

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