29 July 2019

In response to the updated national wild tiger population estimate announced today by the government of India, Stuart Chapman, Leader of the Tigers Alive Initiative said:

“At a time when the future of wild tigers is under threat, every tiger counts. The updated India tiger population estimate suggests that numerous populations within the country may be stable or growing. The 2018 surveys were also unparalleled in their extent, and provide comprehensive coverage of tiger habitats in India. The persistence of wild tigers can be attributed to enhanced protection, tiger prey management, habitat management, participation of local communities in tiger conservation, and political will.
 
“India continues to lead the way in tiger recovery and has the largest wild tiger population of any country.
  
“We applaud the government of India for championing the conservation of tigers  in the wild. This gives hope for the future if the second most populous nation on Earth can continue to  recover its tiger populations.”

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Notes:

• TX2 is a 12-year goal: 2010 – 2022, from the last Year of the Tiger to the next.  In 2010, at the Tiger Summit in St Petersburg, India and the 12 other tiger range countries committed to the most ambitious and visionary species conservation goal ever set: TX2 – to double global wild tiger numbers by 2022, the next year of the tiger.
• According to the Government of India’s latest Status of Tigers in India – 2018 report, the survey covered 381,400 km2 of forested habitats in 20 tiger occupied states of India. In these forests, 317,958 habitat plots were sampled for vegetation, human impacts and prey dung. A foot survey of 522,996 km was conducted for carnivore signs and prey abundance estimations. Camera traps were deployed at 26,838 locations. These cameras resulted in 34,858,623 photographs of wildlife of which 76,651 were of tigers and 51,777 were of leopards. The total area sampled by camera traps was 121,337 km2. The total effort invested in the survey was 593,882 man-days. The Wildlife Institute of India and India’s National Tiger Conservation Authority, responsible for leading this survey, believe that this is the world's largest effort invested in any wildlife survey to date, on all of the above criteria. WWF experts were part of this unprecedented exercise covering 33 priority sites.
• The last census, conducted in 2015, estimated India's wild tiger population at 2,226.  Today’s new estimate of 2,967 tigers is indicative of the continued progress in reversing the decline of tigers.