1411. 2226. 2967.
That's how the wild tiger count has rebounded in India as per the last three official census.
Officially India's wild tiger population has doubled since we hit that ignominious trough of 1411 wild tigers a decade or so back.
This is an encouraging sign but not a comforting one.
If I understand it correctly, this is the first time tiger count from some of the remote mountainous terrains of the north-east has been included. While this is great because now conservationists know about the tiger population in those regions, it also dampens the tiger population growth rate in the rest of the country.
There's lot more work to do.
While I read the happy news of tiger sighting in North Sikkim, I was heartbroken and horified by the news of the tiger lynching in UP.
These acts of violence show the kinds of challenges tiger conservation and other wildlife still faces.
The hellish image of a mother elephant and her calf being harrased with fire which was widely circulated a couple of years back is often the reality of our wild animals in many parts of the country. Even now.
So work must go on, especially in reducing man animal conflict. We cannot sit on our laurels now that we have doubled the tiger population.
The roar of the wild tiger needs to be preserved for posterity. The future generations will thank us if we are successful in doing this.
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