New Delhi: The estimated tiger population in the country has inched to 2,967 from 2,461 – an increase of eight percent, found a 2018 report by Status of Tigers in India.
While tiger occupancy has increased in Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, losses were found in the northeast, which the report said was due to “poor sampling”.
Continued losses in Chhattisgarh and Odisha were flagged as a “matter of concern”. MP and Karnataka have the highest tiger population, the report said.
The report further revealed Tiger populations of “Northeast Hills and Odisha remain critically vulnerable and need immediate conservation attention”.
No tigers were spotted at three tiger reserves namely, Buxa in West Bengal, Palamu in Jharkhand and Dampa in Mizoram. Tiger populations at Nameri (Assam) and Pakke (Arunachal Pradesh) have also shown a decline.
“Tiger occupancy was found to be stable at 88,985 km the country scale since 2014 (88,558 km). Though there were losses and gains at individual landscapes and state scales,” said the report. It said that the ‘suggested’ loss and gain of tiger occupancy was primarily due to habitats with low-density populations.
Also Read: Tiger Count In Odisha Remains Constant At 28: NTCA Report
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