Tigers are considered as an ‘Umbrella Species’ as their conservation saves many other sub-species of animals. In a move showing great intent, India has doubled its tiger population ahead of the target year of 2022.
Project Tiger, launched in 1973, has been a success story despite the seemingly insurmountable challenges of poaching, loss of habitat, human and wildlife conflict, climate change and natural calamities.
International Tiger Day is held July 29 every year. It was launched in 2010 after the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit. The Summit was held to promote awareness about the sharp dip in the number of wild tigers, leaving them on the verge of extinction.
Union Ministers and and wild life lovers have been tweeting interesting facts about International Tiger Day. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar posted a short video on Twitter, talking about how the phenomenal success was achieved. “15 months, survey of 3,81,400 sq km of forest area and 5,93,882 man days…,” the video said. “Project Tiger was launched in 1973 with just nine tiger reserves. Today, India has 50 reserves with 2,967 tigers,” Mr Javadekar tweeted.
Project Tiger was launched in 1973 with just 9 tiger reserves. Today, India has 50 reserves having 2967 tigers.
Tiger sits at the peak of the food chain and the increased numbers is a testimony of the robust bio-diversity. #IndiasTigerSuccess #InternationalTigerDay #TigerDay pic.twitter.com/pmEEsWInee— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) July 29, 2020
Here are the top ten amazig facts about tigers
1. A tiger’s roar can be heard uptill a maximum distance of a three kilometers
2. No two tigers have the same stripes just like humans who dont have the same fingerprints
3. There were eight tiger subspecies at one time, but three became extinct during the 20th century.
4. Tigers live alone and aggressively scent-mark large territories to keep their rivals away from their territory
5. At full speed, tigers can reach up to 65km/h
6. Tigers are not only superfast runners but good swimmers!
7. Tigers are the largest wild cats in the world and can weigh up to 363 kilograms
8. Tigers can climb trees under stress!
9. Tiger cubs are born blind and attain clear vision after 6-8 weeks of birth.
10. The average life span of a tiger in the wild is about 11 years.
PNN/Agencies