NASHIK: International Tiger Day is celebrated every year on 29th July to raise awareness about the eye-catching but endangered species. The day, founded in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit in Russia, aims at doubling the number of Tigers by 2022. Their population witnessed a downfall in the 20th Century due to illegal activities like poaching, hunting, trading, and habitat loss. The theme, common for all years, is “their survival is in our hands.”
As per the 2018 census, India’s tiger population stands at 2,967, with the population graph growing back steadily to normal. Maharashtra’s tiger population stands at 312, with Chandrapur having the highest number of tigers.
Nashik district
Even though there’s no tiger presence in the district, the district’s villagers spotted the big cats in two different scenarios. However, the forest department didn’t confirm the claims. In 2008, a 22-year-old was attacked by a wild cat in Mharsul, near Trimbakeshwar, and the villagers claimed a tiger attacked the boy. According to their statements, they had spotted a tiger in their surroundings before the attack. In 2013, Wildlife Warden Amit Khare assured the presence of two tigers and cubs in the district as he and many villagers sighted the big cat.
However, he didn’t reveal the location fearing the poachers and hunters. Even though there hasn’t been any official sighting of tigers in Nashik in the past fifty years, one was spotted in the neighbouring Ahmednagar district, and even the Konkan region is home to some wild cats. However, the question of ‘Man-Animal’ conflict always arises when tigers get spotted in the field or urban areas.
Their sustenance outside the protected areas is difficult due to conflicts and habitat loss. Their population is flourishing inside the protected areas, but they need a better environment for surviving outside them. Better connectivity in protected areas and reduced deforestation will prove beneficial for these endangered species.
These black striped big cats have long reproductive cycles and require large home ranges. These unique traits increase their vulnerability compared to other creatures. The only reason they escaped extinction was their ability to survive in many types of habitat.
The tigers’ habitat has been severely impacted in the country and Asia due to deforestation and concretization. This magnificent creature was declared endangered i.e., “at the verge of extinction” in 1986 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
To save the wild cat from becoming extinct, the Government of India launched ‘Project Tiger’ in April 1973. The basic aim: protecting the Bengal Tigers in their natural habitats and preventing them from getting extinct. Later, the National Tiger Conservation Authority was constituted in December 2005 following a recommendation for a Tiger Task Force.
Deshdoot Times spoke to Kiran Rahalkar, Wildlife Biologist, to understand better about the tiger’s population. To begin with, he stated that the Tiger population is reversing back to normal due to the persistent efforts of the Forest department and other organisations and better methodology technology like GPS and camera trapping. However, the question of ‘Man-Animal’ conflict always arises when tigers get spotted in the field or urban areas. Their sustenance outside the protected areas is difficult due to conflicts and habitat loss. Their population is flourishing inside the protected areas, but they need a better environment for surviving outside them. Better connectivity in protected areas and reduced deforestation will prove beneficial for these endangered species.
