Tiger Conservation in India

Tigers occupy the pinnacle of the food chain and a healthy tiger population is an indicator of the well being of the whole forest. Throughout evolution, predators have had a regulatory influence on the population sizes of other species; it is thanks to carnivores, such as tigers, that the number of herbivores is kept in check. In turn, the populations can therefore only fluctuate between certain limits because of this "feedback mechanism".

With the number of herbivores under control, but not depleted, the forest vegetation is likely to thrive provided humans do not over exploit it. Seeds will be dispersed by new growth will not be prevented by excessive grazing pressure. Healthy vegetation protects the rainwater and safeguards the water table. Many forest are important catchments areas for rivers, upon which many species, including human beings, depend.

Species at the top of the food chain are generally larger and require more space than other animals, particularly if they are territorial . Conserving such species in the wild protects the habitat of many other animals, as well as safeguarding the essential ecological processes such as water and nutrient cycling. Thus the tiger is the guardian of many other creatures.

The tiger, largest of all cats, is one of the most charismatic and evocative species on the Earth; tiger is also one of the most threatened. Only 6,000 or so remain in the wild, most in isolated pockets spread across increasingly fragmented forests stretching from India to south-eastern China and from the Russian Far East to Indonesia.

Across its range, tigers are being poisoned, electrocuted, blown up by land mines, trapped, snared, shot and captured. The majority of tigers are sought to meet the demands of a continuing illegal wildlife trade.

Hunters, traders, and poor local residents whose main means of subsistence comes from the forest, are wiping out the tiger and the natural prey upon which it depends. While poaching for trade continues to menace the tiger's survival, perhaps the greatest long-term threats are the loss of habitat and the depletion of the tiger's natural prey. Tiger sightings have become quite rare these days in India, reason being the Tiger killings because of its multitude of medicinal or magical properties that is why tiger trade is very profitable. Genuinely the tiger skin is not fashionable but the smuggling of Tiger fur coats and rugs are not difficult for the impoverished hunters. Even after the bans made by the government warning not to gather even wood from the former hunting grounds, poaching of tigers continue.

Already 3 tiger subspecies are extinct

In the past century, the world has lost three of the eight tiger subspecies. The Bali, Caspian and Javan tigers have all become extinct, and the South China tiger is facing the same fate.

Why is this species important?

The tiger is a powerful symbol of reverence among the variety of cultures that live across its range. Wherever tigers live, they command respect, awe or fear from their human neighbors. Even in places where tigers have become extinct or never existed in the wild, they live in myth and legend. Recognized throughout the world for its ferocity and unmistakable beauty, the tiger faces an uncertain future. Due to increases in both natural and human threats, the wild tiger population suffered major losses during the 20th century and has become one of our most endangered species. By the 1950s, tigers living around the Caspian Sea were extinct; between 1937 and 1972 the population of tigers that once inhabited the islands of Bali and Java disappeared; the South China tiger, with at best 20 to 30 individuals, is nearly extinct in the wild.

India today has the largest number of tigers, numbering somewhere between 3,030 and 4,735 and it is estimated that only 5,100 to 7,500 individual tigers now remain in the entire world. These remaining tigers are threatened by many factors, including growing human populations, loss of habitat, illegal hunting of tigers and the species they hunt, and expanded trade in tiger parts used for traditional medicines.

As top predators, tigers keep populations of wild ungulates in check, thereby maintaining the balance between herbivores and the vegetation upon which they feed. In short, when tigers thrive, the ecosystem thrives. Still efforts are continuously made to preserve these magnificent predators from extinction. The Project tiger was launched in India in 1972 as conservation programme for saving the Indian Tiger Population. Some of the best examples of this programmes success can be seen in the national parks situated in the high Himalayan region, Corbett National Park. But more wildlife conservation laws and awareness among people is still required to make Indian sanctuaries a safe haven for tigers.

Seven areas offer the best hope for conservation

WWF's new tiger conservation strategy and action plan - Conserving Tigers in the Wild

A WWF Framework Strategy for Action 2002-2010 identifies seven focal tiger landscapes where the chances of long-term tiger conservation are best and its involvement will be most valuable. In each of the focal landscapes, WWF aims to establish and manage effective tiger conservation areas, reduce the poaching of tigers and their prey, eliminate the trade in tiger parts and products, create incentives that will encourage local communities and others to support tiger conservation, and build capacity for tiger conservation.

WWF and its conservation partners are working to combat these threats and save the tiger. Together, we can ensure that we leave our children a planet where tigers still roam wild.