When I was growing up, there were far more tigers, even in Nashik district[1]. One of my most vivid memories from growing up is when we were driving to a near by place called Bhandardara. My father was in charge of constructing a tunnel to store water for a hydroelectric power plant and we took this trip many times. We were driving early morning and at around 6.30am, our driver stopped as he could see a tiger cub lying on the street. Our guess was a vehicle had hit it and it needed help. But we could not risk getting out of the car in case the mother shows up. This is before mobile telephones (circa 1994). All we could do was to turn back and reach nearest police station and call forest department for help. Sadly the cub never made it, it was run over and died long before we came across it. Often it is said that we dont always see change in environment as it happens slowly over generation, but drop in tiger population happened very fast. Even though there are no tigers left in my district, I am very glad the population is rising elsewhere in India.
India tiger census shows rapid population growth
101–110 of 123 posts
Re: India tiger census shows rapid population growth
#102Earlier quoted context omitted.
There is a slight insinuation in your comment that it was ignorant villagers who killed off large number of tigers due to population pressures. Superstition and a reaction against man-eating tigers were not the cause of the near extinction. They were intentionally hunted down by the British and the local Maharajas for "sport". Tigers were hunted mostly during the British era. https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2014/…
> insinuation in your comment that it was ignorant villagers who killed I'm sorry but I don't see which sentence makes you think that: esp the ignorant villagers part. > hunted down by the British and the local Maharajas for "sport" The article too points this out. And at the Raj Mahals (Palaces of the Kings) of the Mysore State there was indeed a display of photographs, pictures of Tiger kills by not just the Rajas…
> Additionally, it wasn't uncommon to have Tigers killed, back then, due to danger to human lives. And the Tiger hunters were celebrated heroes.
But then why do you say in your previous comment that there is an overwhelming sense of guilt in the public psyche? There is no such guilt; people are largely indifferent.
Re: India tiger census shows rapid population growth
#103Forgive me for being the party-pooper here. I might be going off on a tangent, but this govt has a history of cooking up numbers. Be it GDP, be it out-of-deficit spending or be it the output of the informal economy. Something that's coming from PMO, I'd be super skeptical. Pardon me for pointing out their carelessness in handling water crisis and climate change, but sure, they focussed on tiger population growth. Def…
> Pardon me for pointing out their carelessness in handling water crisis and climate change, but sure, they focussed on tiger population growth.
A lot of water management happens at the state-level. And the worst water-crisis in recent memory happened at Chennai, which is not a BJP ruled state.
Also, considering the push towards renewable energy, I'm not sure how it's fine to blame the PMO for "carelessness against climate change."
Re: India tiger census shows rapid population growth
#104Stories about climate change are flagged off the front page because they are supposedly irrelevant but somehow this story remains. What gives? How is the tiger population more relevant than climate change, an existential threat to humanity and all living species?
It isn't about tiger population vs climate change.
The tiger population is important because they are at the peak of the food chain, and their conservation is important to ensure the well-being of the forest ecosystem.
Re: India tiger census shows rapid population growth
#105Tigers are twice as heavy as lions but still the same size. With a single swipe of a claw, a tiger was able to slit a lion’s throat, killing it instantly.
Where did that happen? From my understanding, their habitat is vastly different.
Re: India tiger census shows rapid population growth
#106Forgive me for being the party-pooper here. I might be going off on a tangent, but this govt has a history of cooking up numbers. Be it GDP, be it out-of-deficit spending or be it the output of the informal economy. Something that's coming from PMO, I'd be super skeptical. Pardon me for pointing out their carelessness in handling water crisis and climate change, but sure, they focussed on tiger population growth. Def…
This was exactly my thought as well. This government has gone to extraordinary lengths to open up forests to industries with very little protection for the environment. They have also denied the rights of indigenous tribals to the lands. Source: https://theprint.in/opinion/environment-is-the-most-under-re... How can the tiger population increase when forest cover has dropped drastically? Fact is, the environment prot…
I'm not sure what do you mean by denied the rights of indigenous tribals to the lands.
It was the Supreme Court that ordered to evict tribals from forests over a case filed by several wildlife groups. A review petition filed by the Centre then led to the stay on the eviction order.
Source: https://wap.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/su...
Re: India tiger census shows rapid population growth
#107Tigers unlike Lions are solitary animals, so these numbers are impressive +/- 10%. My home state has one of the largest numbers and I was fortunate to see a Tigress with fresh kill and couple of cubs. Truly majestic beasts these are.
> was fortunate to see a Tigress with fresh kill and couple of cubs. also fortunate you werent the 'fresh kill'! serious, though, in what kind of context is it possible to see an adult tigress and not totally crap your pants?
There was a video circulating around a few weeks back of a guy on a bike riding through a forest when a tiger came charging towards him. Absolutely terror-inducing footage. Those things are FAST!
Re: India tiger census shows rapid population growth
#108I hope to see a tiger in the wild when I go to India. Looking into how to make this possible.
The best chance is possibly Ranthambore. It's close to Jaipur as well (which is on most tourist itineraries) and easier to access than other reserves. It's also a much smaller park so it's easier to catch tigers, especially during summers.
Re: India tiger census shows rapid population growth
#109This is really interesting report.
Re: India tiger census shows rapid population growth
#110Earlier quoted context omitted.
> was fortunate to see a Tigress with fresh kill and couple of cubs. also fortunate you werent the 'fresh kill'! serious, though, in what kind of context is it possible to see an adult tigress and not totally crap your pants?
There was a video circulating around a few weeks back of a guy on a bike riding through a forest when a tiger came charging towards him. Absolutely terror-inducing footage. Those things are FAST!
Are you talking about this?
That fella is lucky, looks like the tigress decided to cut her chase midway, else with that speed, the cameraman was a goner.