Tigers are the mammals of the Felidae family and one of the four ‘big cats’ in the Panthera genus. They have the species name Panthera tigris. They are predatory carnivores and the largest and most powerful of all living cats.
Over the last century, tiger numbers have fallen by about 95%, and tigers now survive in 40% less of the area they occupied just a decade ago. There are nine subspecies of tigers, three of which are extinct.
Human-Tiger Coexistence Amidst Rising Tiger Population
The wild tiger population in the world has declined by more than 98% in the past 200 years. The present tiger population of 3890 is only 5% of the population, a century ago. Concerned by this sharp decline of the iconic animal of the Asian tropical forests, the head of government of 13 tiger range countries conferred at the International Tiger Forum in St Petersburg, Russia in 2010. In the meeting, they signed a written commitment to double wild tiger population by 2022 in an attempt to protect this endangered species from extinction.
Tiger population is very important from both ecological and economic point of view. The number of tourists can be increased and the national economy supported if the population of the tiger can be increased.
According to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Nepal had only 121 tigers when it signed the ‘St. Petersburg Declaration on Tiger Conservation’ in 2010. The 2013 tiger census released in 2014, estimated that the tiger population was 198 in 2013. Various projects and conservation programs are being conducted to double the tiger population by 2022. All the stakeholders were are excited about the possibilities of reaching the goal before the prescribed deadline.
The census of the Bengal Tiger commenced in late November 2017. The camera trapping method was used along the tigers’ path. According to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, around 150 cameras, tamed elephants, and around 200 man powers were used in the census.
The report of the census was supposed to be published on 29th July 2018 on the occasion of International Tiger Day. It didn’t get published. The rumor that the tiger population didn’t increase got spread immensely. Perhaps the number of tigers didn’t rise as supposed. If the target regarding the tiger population has been achieved then that’s great. We all would be so grateful for our achievement. Even if not then it’s okay. Sometimes it happens. All projects are not obliged to succeed. At this point, we should review our weakness and correct them. Four more years remain until the project deadline. We have to be more optimistic and positive. We should be quite careful so that the mistakes committed previously won’t be repeated. We are left with the only way of working hard to accomplish our goals.
