New Delhi: India Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the latest tiger census data (International Big Cats Alliance -IBCA, at a mega event to mark the completion of 50 years of 'Project Tiger' in Mysuru tomorrow, April 9.
The PM will also interact with Field Directors of tiger reserves that have scored highest in the recently concluded fifth cycle of Management Effectiveness Evaluation exercise.
Seven of the largest big cats in the world namely the Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Puma, Jaguar, and Cheetah; will be the focus of IBCA's protection and conservation efforts. The alliance was officially launched in response to PM Modi's request for an alliance of world leaders to stop poaching and illegal wildlife trade in Asia, which he made in July 2019.
The Center has taken action in this area as a result of Prime Minister Modi's strong convictions and vision to protect wildlife and punish poachers. The fauna of the nation has benefited from extensive efforts in this direction. The number of big cats has increased in India since 2014, with the tiger population rising by 33% from 2,226 in 2014 to 2,967 in 2018.
The latest figures on the tiger population will be released by the Prime Minister on April 9. The population of lions in Gujarat's Gir forest has increased by 29% as a result of effective conservation management and strong protection (674 in 2020, up from 523 in 2015).
The widely distributed Leopard population has witnessed an increase of about 63 per cent (from 7910 in 2014 to 12,852 in 2018).
In an effort to resurrect the species in India years after it had gone extinct, PM Modi's vision-driven nation managed the first-ever, wild-to-wild intercontinental transfer of a big cat (the cheetah) in 2022.
The government's initiatives include making conservation efforts that will have a favourable effect on the animal population. A crackdown on poaching is an additional factor.
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