Tiger population goes up for the first time in over 100 years

Morges (Switzerland), April 13: The count of tigers across the world has increased for the first time in 100 years, thanks to better conservation efforts, wildlife groups said recently.

According to data released by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Global Tiger Forum, the global population of tigers has increased from an all-time low in 3,200 to an estimated 3,890.

Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF International, said in a statement released on Monday (April 11) that the number of tigers has risen for the first time after decades of constant fall, agencies reported. [India committed to protecting tigers: PM Modi]

This is the first time since 1900 when the count of the endangered animal has gone up. Back then, their number was 1,00,00.

India is home to more than half of those cats with some 2,226 roaming in its reserves in 18 states, as per the latest count made in 2014.

Countries like Russia, Bhutan and Nepal also saw the number of tigers in their territories increased in the last surveys. Bangladesh, on the other hand, has seen its tiger population reduced drastically from 440 to 106 last year. Conservationists, however, said that the population was perhaps over-estimated six years ago. Indonesia has also seen a steep decline in the tiger population owing to destruction of forest land, the reports added.

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