SC asks Centre to ascertain reasons for recent tiger deaths [Read Order]

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to find out reasons for recent deaths of tigers in the country.

A bench of Justice K M Joseph and B V Nagarathna cited the news reports of deaths of big cats and sought to know the reasons for it.

The court's direction came in a PIL filed by Anupam Tripathi.

"Though the petitioner is not present, respondents will ascertain about reported deaths of the tigers in India," the order stated.

The court fixed the matter for consideration after three weeks.

It was reported that barely two months in year 2023, as many as 37 tigers had died in the protected areas across the country.

In January, 2023, it was claimed before the top court that India has become home to over 70% of the world's tiger population, having recorded 2,967 tigers across 53 reserves as per 2018 census.

India has achieved the target of doubling of tiger population in 2018, four years ahead of schedule of the St Petersburg Declaration on tiger Conservation.

"Due to efforts of the Government of India thorough the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the tiger has been brought from the brink of extinction to an assured path of recovery, which is evident in findings of the quadrennial All India Tiger Estimation conducted in 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018," a written response filed in the top court said.

These results have shown a healthy annual growth rate of tigers at 6%, which offsets natural losses and keeps tigers at the habitats carrying capacity level, in the Indian context.

The Project Tiger became a role model for scientific management of protected areas in India. It laid down the concept of core-buffer-corridor zonation, prescribed interventions for protection, habitat improvement, field data collection relating to change in the composition of flora and fauna on account of protection, animal estimation and other aspects, it added.

In a status report, National Tiger Conservation Authority said, India has become home to more than 70% tiger population in the world. A comprehensive report of All India Tiger Estimation (2018) was released on July 29, 2020. The fourth round of country level tiger status assessment completed in 2018, with findings indicating an increase with a tiger population estimate of 2967 (lower and upper limits being 2603 and 3346 respectively), as compared to the last country level estimation of 2014, with an estimate of 2226, 2010 estimation with an estimation of 1706 and 2006 estimation, with an estimate of 1411.

The report said the fifth cycle of All India Tiger Estimation is currently ongoing and it will be completed in 2023. 
 

[Read Order]