29th July is known as Global Tiger Day. Also known as International Tiger Day was announced in the annual tiger summit held at St. Peters burgh in 2010. The day signifies awareness regarding the cat species alarming decrease in numbers worldwide. The even seeks support from all Tiger Conservations.
Jim Corbett National Park is another tourist favorite destinations of which the Royal Bengal tiger made the most important attraction. Several jungle resorts in the region have been active participants in creating awareness amongst the tourists to safeguard the sanctity of the place. It is the duty of these best resorts in Corbett to contribute their share as a shared responsibility towards the environment.
Tigers make for an important part of the ecosystem. In the wake of the same, the forest department of many states and NTCA celebrates the day and conducts various programs for both common public and officials. The aim is to make people aware of the long term ill-effects that might come up because of the extinction of Tigers. This year the Global Tiger Day comes with great news as there has been an increase in the overall Tiger population in India.
Jim Corbett National Park's survey showed an upward trend in the Tiger number and now the parking area boasts a healthy population of 206 Tigers, as recorded by the Camera traps set up by WWF in the parking area. Keep in mind that there are many Tigers, which still might give a miss to these cameras, and sub-adults are not counted in the census as the mortality rate is high among Tiger cubs.
Jim Corbett might soon have more than 300 Tigers in near future and thus making Uttarakhand NO-1 in terms of Tiger Population leaving Karnataka behind at NO-2. This is the result of responsible tourists practiced by jungle resorts in Corbett. But the question is should we celebrate this upward trend in Tiger numbers in India, or should we focus on the dwindling Tiger population in the neighboring countries?
We have already lost 3 sub-species of Tigers namely Bali, Caspian, and Javan Tigers. Among the 6 species today, South-China and Indo-Chinese species face the threat of extinction, South-China subspecies are said to be less than 50 in number, It is on the list of 10 most endangered species in the world. More than 25 years have passed since the last confirmed sighting of the species.
Habitat Loss and Poaching are the biggest threats to the Tiger population in the wild. It's time to take more concrete steps to resolve the issues before it's too late and the damage is permanent. Stricter laws need to be passed against Skin trade and smuggling of bones and other parts. At the beginning of the century the population was said to be more than 100,000, and the situation today is that the number of caged Tiger is almost double their population in Wild.
Let's wake up and unite for a better future of the Big Cat before it's too late, we need to come together if we want this Majestic beast to survive, or else be prepared to the striped beauty to your grandchildren in textbooks and museums.
