Shaila’s Weblog

Isn’t it surprising that the population of Panthera tigris in India, widely known as the land of tiger is decreasing at such an alarming rate that has led to the  fear of extinction of this glorious  national animal from India.  Famous for its grace, strength, agility and enormous power, this lord of the jungle is in extreme threat of extinction.

Due to illegal smuggling of Tiger Skin and other body parts, there are very few tigers left in the world today. According to the World Census of Tigers, there are only 5000 -7000 tigers in the world today.  Out of which, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, China and Myanmar claim to have a population of 3000 to 4500 and India alone claims to have a population of 2500 to 3750. However, a 2008 census held by Government of India revealed that the tiger population had dropped to 1,411. What started as a Royal Sport during the olden times is now a target of Poaching and Depleting Habitat. Our National Animal is fighting for its life!

The population of tiger is not only decreasing because of illegal poaching but also because of continuous shrinking of its natural habitat. If we don’t act now, we’ll loose this beautiful heritage from us. The questions is what we can do??? and How we can save the tiger???

Every little bit helps. You can speak up about the cause. You can write or blog about our tigers. Even staying up-to-date with tiger facts like knowledge of tiger sanctuaries, their population, news updates, etc. helps. You can also donate money to NGOs working for the cause, like WWF-India.

Tiger Facts

• From around 40,000 tigers at the turn of the last century, there are just 1411 tigers left in India.
• 2009 was the worst year for tigers in India, with 86 deaths reported.
• There are 37 Tiger sanctuaries in India. However, 17 sanctuaries are on the verge of losing their tiger population.
• Corbett National Park is the oldest tiger park in India. It was created in 1936 as ‘Hailey National Park’.  The Kanha National Park’s lush sal and bamboo forests, grassy meadows and ravines provided inspiration to Rudyard Kipling for his famous novel, The Jungle Book.