International Tiger Day is celebrated on July 29 every year. The day aims to help promote a worldwide system whereby we are dedicated to protecting the fierce tiger and their natural habitats.
The day was first created in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit. This was done to raise awareness of the decline of wild tiger numbers, leaving them on the brink of extinction and to encourage the celebration around the important work of Tiger conservation.
According to the All India Tiger Estimation Report-2018, India is now home to nearly, 70 percent of the global tiger population.
Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar released the All India Tiger Estimation Report-2018 on the occasion of International Tiger Day on July 28. He also released a poster on small wild cats of India at the event. Addressing the media briefing in New Delhi, Javadekar informed that India is home to nearly 70 percent of the global tiger population and it leads the world in showing effective conservation of the wild species.
“Apart from tigers, India is also home to 30 thousand elephants, 3000 single-horned Rhinos and over 500 lions. The country is ready to provide every assistance to increase the population of tigers in the world”, Javadekar said.
Javadekar informed that the government has also decided to initiate an ambitious water and fodder augmentation programme ensuring adequate water and food to animals. He said the programme aims at further increasing the tiger population in the country.
Meanwhile, Mizoram’s Dampa Tiger Reserve and West Bengal’s Buxa Tiger Reserve don’t have any tigers left. According to the report released by Javadekar, Dudhwa, Kanha, Tadoba, Sathyamangalam and Sundarban each had more than 80 tigers.
“For reintroduction of tigers into Palamau, prey augmentation needs to be coupled with the restoration of law and order. For tiger reintroduction or supplementation in Palamau and Similipal, tigers need to be sourced from the closest source in the same genetic cluster,” the report added.
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