Raj witnessed 27% increase in tiger population in 2022, currently has 88: Report
According to the state forest department officials, the number of tigers in Rajasthan has increased to around 120 in 2023, including the cubs till date
Rajasthan has witnessed a steady rise in tiger population revealed the Union forest ministry report on ‘Status of Tigers Co-predators and Prey in India 2022’.
In 2006, the number of tigers in Rajasthan was 32, which increased to 36 in 2010, 45 in 2014, 69 in 2018, and 88 in 2022 – showing a steady rise in the population, however, it is still far behind other states with tiger population such as Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Uttarakhand.
The report released on Saturday shows that Rajasthan stands third in the Central Indian Landscape and Eastern Ghats tiger landscape with 88 tigers, which is far behind then states such as Madhya Pradesh (785) and Maharashtra (444).
The tiger landscape is spread over eight Indian states, including Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana.
Also Read: With 785 big cats, Madhya Pradesh retains its spot as ‘tiger state of India’
India is the only nation in the world to have institutionalised and effectively completed five cycles of Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) of tiger reserves in the country. It has declared a network of 53 tiger reserves spread across 18 states covering an area of 75,796.83 sq km. Of these, a total of 51 tiger reserves have been independently evaluated through the MEE process in the fifth cycle of MEE of tiger reserves in 2022.
A total of 12 tiger reserves have achieved the ‘excellent’ category, followed by 21 reserves in the ‘very good’ category, 13 reserves in the ‘good’ category and five reserves in the ‘fair’ category.
The three-tiger reserves of Rajasthan – Ranthambore in Sawai Madhopur, Sariska in Alwar, and Mukundra Hills in Kota have been kept under the ‘good’ category in the report.
Meanwhile, according to the state forest department officials, the number of tigers in Rajasthan has increased to around 120 in 2023, including the cubs till date. “The population figures in the report is based on the number of adult tigers, and not the cubs. The current population is around 120 in the state, including the cubs” said a senior forest official.
He said around 14 newborns have been recorded since April, this year. In Ranthambore, tigress Ridhi and Aerohead were spotted with three cubs each. In Sariska, ST-19 was spotted with two cubs. In Ramgarh, Vishdhari VT-2 was seen with three cubs.
Meanwhile, the NTCA has approved the shifting of four tigresses to different reserves in Rajasthan, including two to Ramgarh Vishdhari and one each to Sariska and Mukundra. To increase the prey base, Chittal from Delhi’s deer park has been sent to Mukundra and Ramgarh Vishdhari.
