India’s latest tiger census has estimated 1,706 wild tigers, 226 higher than a similar count four years ago, but government officials and wildlife scientists have cautioned against complacency amid disturbing losses and disputes over counting.
The estimates for 2010 released by the Union environment and forests ministry suggest a 16 per cent increase in the number of tigers — from 1,410 to 1,636 — in all tiger landscapes except the Sunderbans where no assessment had been done in 2006.
But a conservation scientist said the 16 per cent increase would suggest a reversal of the previous decline of tigers. “Since the various threats faced by tigers do not appear to have diminished in the last four years, it is difficult to explain the claimed reversal of the decline of tigers,” said Ulhas Karanth, director of the Centre for Wildlife Studies in Bangalore, who specialises in tiger conservation.
The 2010 count for Sunderbans, described as the first-ever-scientific assessment of the iconic inhabitant of Bengal’s mangrove and tidal zone, is 70. But Sunderbans forest officials believe the census has underestimated the tiger population there.
The analysis has shown that India’s tiger territory — the area across the country where tigers roam — has reduced from 93,600sqkm to about 72,800sqkm over the past four years, although tigers appear well protected within core tiger reserve areas.
No comments:
Post a Comment