Tiger, the royal and magnificent animal, is fast losing its population the world over, including Manipur in Northeast India region, is now endangered mainly due to increasing destruction of their natural habitats and wildlife crime, among others. In view of it and in an effort to conserve and protect the endangered big cat, Global Tiger Day or International Tiger Day is observed every July 29. The tiger day initiated by 13 countries across the world, where tiger still roams, aims to build and develop a stronger bond between wildlife and people. In line with it, the theme for International Tiger Day 2025–Harmonious Coexistence between Humans and Tigers–emphasizes the importance of finding ways for humans and tigers to live in harmony. It highlights the need for conservation efforts that benefit both the species and their shared ecosystems.
Tiger, India’s national animal, is a symbol of beauty, bravery, strength, exquisite and nationality; so, save the tiger means save the national pride. The royal animal, revered in various cultures, is also called the ‘Umbrella Species.’ However, tigers live in some of the most important but also highly threatened habitats on the planet, where many of rare species thrive. Hence, in protecting its habitats and conserving this majestic animal, we also conserve the pristine ecosystem and thousands of other species living in the same natural habitat.
Natural Habitat Loss Poses Major Challenge to Tiger Conservation
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), globally there are only 5872 tigers left. An alarming 95% of the tiger population got extinct since the beginning of the 20th century.
As per the latest tiger estimation report, India’s tiger population is 3682 tigers. This is about 63%, the highest number of tigers so far, a country has globally.
One of the major challenges for decline in tiger population are habitat loss – humans have cut down their natural habitats – forest areas for purposes like agriculture, timber and create enough living spaces, leading to a loss of 93% tiger’s natural habitat.
Left with just about 5% of the range where they used to roam, tigers are losing their homes to deforestation, infrastructure and other human disturbances, forcing them into rapidly diminishing pockets of nature.
‘Man animals’ conflict, the climate change–rising sea levels of Sunderbans, etc. are wiping out the tiger population. Poaching and illegal trade of tigers add to their decline in number, as there is a huge demand for each body parts of tiger from whiskers to its tail.
None of the tiger conservation landscapes in India within the Bengal’s tiger range are large enough to support an effective population size of 25.
Wildlife Crime Reducing Tiger Population in Manipur
Manipur being a boarder state with Myanmar serves as a strategic route for wildlife crime. Wild life crime is the global third largest crime next to drugs and arms in terms of volume and number. The illicit demand for bones and other body parts of tiger for use in traditional Chinese medicine is another reason for the unrelenting poaching pressure in the country.
The mandate for project tiger is the hope to conserve tigers in a holistic manner. At present the dynamics of forest management and wildlife conservation have been distorted due to need of income, lack of manpower, lack of awareness, lack of land use policy and population pressure.
A regional development approach in landscapes having Tiger Reserves is of utmost importance in our country. It should be viewed as a mosaic of different land use patterns, viz, tiger conservation, forestry, sustainable use and development, besides socio-economic growth.
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Tiger habitats exist in environments of thousands of indigenous communities which depend on them and the traditional use systems of people in these landscapes are neither static nor benign. Therefore, we cannot view these protected areas in isolation from the surrounding socio-economic realities and developmental priorities of the government. This calls for a cross-sectorial and cross-disciplinary approach.
Tigers now need a ‘preservationist’ approach. Regional management planning is important all over the country to foster ecological connectivity between protected areas through a restorative input with integrated land use planning. In Manipur, reportedly cattle have been killed by tigers in Tamenglong district. If so, Manipur can be included in the global tiger map.
Although, we have the Acts and Rules, unless the acceptance from all sections of the society that our national animal is becoming extinct, we will be too late for tomorrow to save the tiger, the iconic, royal, and majestic wild animal.
We are to protect tigers’ natural habitats, raise public awareness and support for tiger conservation issues for this magnificent but endangered big cat and to create a Tx2 – ‘Tigers times two,’ according to the initiation of the global event – Global Tiger Day.
Today, the Global Tiger Forum is the only intergovernmental alliance dedicated exclusively to the conservation of wild tigers.
However, planned efforts are being made under the Project Tiger of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and state governments. The conservation project of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change was launched on April 1, 1973. The Project Tiger aims to increase the population of tigers, preserve their habitats, and reduce human-wildlife conflict.
The tiger population, however, declined from 3642 in 1990 to just over 1411 in 2006. Since then, the government has undertaken several steps to reduce the destruction of the Bengal tiger’s natural habitat in India.
These projects had an excellent recovery to increase the tiger population up to 3682 in 2022, almost in 58 tiger reserves across 18 states covering 2.3% of India’s total land area. The approach focused on habitat preservation, anti-poaching enforcement and scientific monitoring with Forest, Police and other agencies to make India a global leader in tiger conservation.
(The author is an environmentalist, presently working as District Forest Officer, Chandel, Manipur. He can be reached at – nmunall@yahoo.in)
(Ukhrul Times is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse its content. Any reports or views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Ukhrul Times.)
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