Tigers, their survival is in our hands

N Munal Meitei *

A Tiger Cub at Guwahati zoo, Assam in October 2013 :: Pix - Cavendish Maibam

Global Tiger Day is celebrated on 29th July every year since 2010 to protect the natural habitats of tigers, raise public awareness and support for tiger conservation issues and to show our collective support to save this magnificent but endangered animal. This day is observed with much fervor and enthusiasm to build and develop a stronger bond between human and wildlife.

"Doubling tigers is about ti-gers, about the whole of nature - and its also about us" -Marco Lambertini, the Director General WWF said.

The WWF commit to TX2— 'Tiger times two' the global goal to double the number of wild tigers, say 6000 in 13 tiger range countries by 2022 but could reach 4500 tigers only as of now. It seems that the whole world has ignored the fact and they even forgot to set the theme for 2022 also. We must protect tigers from extinction because our plan-et's future depends on it.

Tiger is a symbol of beauty, bravery, strength and Nationality. So to save the tiger means to save the National pride. The beautiful, awe-inspiring tiger is one of the planet's most iconic animals. Tiger, the royal animal revered in various cultures is also called the `Umbrella Species' and by conserving this majestic species, we also conserve the pristine eco-system and thousands of other species in the same habitat.

Manipur is at present not included in the global tiger map but not so long back, there were many instances where tigers were found in the State. We have heard of the word 'Keichanba,' which itself prove we had abundant tigers. Tigers are incredibly adaptable animals and can survive in extreme temperatures ----40°C to +50°C. A tiger's roar can be heard upto 3 kms.

Tigers are the largest of all big cats weighing upto 300 kg. Tigers live in some of the most important but also most highly threatened habitats on the planet, where many of the most exceptional species thrive. Left with just 5% of the range where they used to roam, tigers are losing their homes to deforestation, infrastructure and other anthropogenic fac-tors, forcing them into rapidly diminishing pockets of nature.

According to WWF, globally 95% of the figer popu-lation got extinct since the beginning of the 20th century. As per the latest census reports of 2018-19, India's figer population is 2967 tigers. This is about 70%, the highest number of tigers so far a country has globally.

Because of the planned efforts under Project Tiger, India could attain the achievement after the country launched the initiative on 1st April 1973. It has been one of the most successful ventures in recent times to protect the striped predator. The tiger population 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 the country. This project had the excellent recovery to increase the tiger population, almost in 53 tiger reserves across 20 Indian States. The Government also launched an anti-poaching force comprising of police, for-est officials and other agencies.

The challenges for decline in tiger population are habitat loss — humans have cut down the forest areas for purposes like agricultural land, timber and create enough living spaces leading to a loss of 93% fig.'s natural habitat. Poaching & illegal trade of tigers happen as there is a huge demand for each body parts of figer from whiskers to its tail.

Man-animal conflict, the climate change—rising sea levels of Sunderbans etc. are also wiping out the tiger population. 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. Manipur being iat the border with Myanmar is in a strategic route for wildlife crime.

Wild life crime is the second largest crime after drugs and atop the arms in terms of volume and number in present world. 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 aware-ness, lack of land use policy and population pressure. A regional development approach in landscapes having Tiger Reserves is of utmost importance in the country.

It should be viewed as a mosaic of different land use patterns, viz, tiger conservation, forestry, sustainable use and develop-ment, besides socio-economic growth. 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-dis-ciplinary 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 plan-ning. Though, we have the Acts and Rules, unless the acceptance from all sections of the society that our National animal is at a tipping point, we will be too late for tomorrow to save the National Animal, the iconic, royal, majestic and the king of the forests.