BENGALURU: The tiger census is around the corner and preliminary reports and information gathered from earlier assessments from tiger reserves across the country shows Karnataka as one of the top three states along with Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand as far as tiger population is concerned.
“This year, there will be a 5-6 per cent increase in tiger numbers,” stated a senior official from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
According to researchers from Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the number of tigers in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh could in fact be the same as Uttarakhand.
“While MP and Karnataka have a larger area under forest protection, Uttarakhand has a higher habitat,” said a senior scientist from WII.
“This year, there will be a five to six per cent increase in tiger numbers. Since the assessment is done once in five years, people think that there is a 15-20 per cent but that is not the case. In fact, we are taking mortality into account this year. With poaching, natural deaths and increased detection of cubs and carcasses, the numbers are expected to show a marginal increase,” stated a senior NTCA official.
Also according to NTCA officials, around 60-70 per cent of the tigers in the country are identified with the stripe pattern.
Population of the big cats
Madhya Pradesh 526
Karnataka 524
Uttarakhand 442
Data: 2018 NTCA tiger census