Tiger Census figures released
By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 29 Jul: State-wise figures were released today by the Centre regarding the numbers of tigers in each state. Forest officials and wildlife lovers were eagerly awaiting the release of the Census data. The Census had been conducted last year but the figures have been released now. AS per the Census, the number of tigers has increased in the state to 560 now, whereas the total number of tigers in the country has been estimated to be 3,682. According to the latest census the number of tigers is 560. It was already expected that this time the situation in the case of tigers in Uttarakhand would improve further. Last time the state was at the third position in the country in terms of tigers,
In 2018, Madhya Pradesh ranked first in the tiger count, where the number of tigers stood at 526. The second position was held by Karnataka with 524 tigers, while Uttarakhand reported 442 tigers and was at the third position. Last time, 252 tigers were reported in Corbett Park while more than 140 tigers were found in Ramnagar, Haldwani, Terai West, Terai Central and Terai East forest divisions under West Circle. Tigers were found from Rajaji National Park to Champawat and Nainital Forest Division.
This time too, tiger movement has been observed in non-core forest areas such as Bhimtal which may be cause of concern. Apart from this, looking at the figures of the previous year, there was an increase of 113 tigers between 2010 and 2014, 102 tigers increased between 2014 and 2018. It is expected that there will be further improvement in the number of tigers. The number of tigers in Terai arc landscape can reach five hundred or more. Improvement in rank is also being expected.
It is not that the number of tigers is increasing only in Corbett Tiger Reserve. Tigers are also being seen in the adjacent forests and surrounding areas. It is a good sign to have tiger reports from Sitavani Reserve Forest, Ramnagar-Haldwani road and Maldhan area. The ideal number of tigers to live in the Corbett landscape is higher in terms of density. In this, the area of living of tigers is shrinking and the mutual conflict between them is also increasing.
Because of rising tiger population, the possibility of conflict between the tigers remains high. The stronger tigers are likely to remain in the core jungle while the weaker ones may have to move away. It is for this reason, that tigers are being seen in areas where there were no sightings in the past. There are many villages and granaries adjacent to Corbett and as such the escaped tigers make their range around these villages and prey on domesticated cattle. Sometimes humans also become their victims.
Programmes like Living with Leopard, Living with Tiger have been started to reduce human-wildlife conflict. Under these programmes, the local public is being made aware of how to protect themselves from wildlife and to Inform the forest staff if tiger or panther is seen around the human population.