The number of tigers in India roughly doubled in a little more than a decade, a conservation success that is due in part to communities learning to live alongside the animals, new research finds.
The number of tigers in India roughly doubled in a little more than a decade, a conservation success that is due in part to communities learning to live alongside the animals, new research finds.
India’s National Tiger Conservation Authority estimates that between 2010 and 2022 the tiger population grew from 1,706 to 3,682. A new study, published in Science, explores how tigers made a comeback, finding the big cats are thriving not only on protected lands but also near some human communities.
While tigers are gone from poorer areas with a history of poaching and from areas affected by violent conflict, they can be found near some more prosperous communities. In these areas poaching is rare. Farmers keep cattle in enclosures to protect them from tigers, and when they lose a cow to a tiger attack, they are compensated by the government. Some communities even get a boost from tourists coming to see the tigers.
Read more at: Yale Environment 360
A tiger on the outskirts of Bhopal, India. (Photo Credit: Yashpal Rathore)
