The year 2009 saw 59 tigers falling prey to poaching and man-animal conflicts, the highest figure in the past three years.
The year 2009 saw 59 tigers falling prey to poaching and man-animal conflicts, the highest figure in the past three years.
A government report also showed that 17 tiger reserves in the country are under population depletion threat.
Painting a grim picture of what holds in the future for them, the government assessment of 38 tiger reserves notes that 17 sanctuaries are in a very precarious condition and could be on the way to become like Sariska and Panna, both infamous for loss of resident big cats.
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Worldwide, there are around 3,000 tigers left in the wild, of which 1,411 are in India as per the latest census. The country is gearing up to conduct a fresh tiger census based on a more scientific method, which will include use of camera traps to identifying the felines from their stripes.
Demand for their skin and bones and degradation of natural habitat due to encroachment are making the wildcat vulnerable.
A tiger can sell for around USD 1,500, but when its body parts are sold, the value can soar to USD 50,000 in view of ever-increasing demand from countries like China which uses the products for preparing traditional medicines.
Besides poaching, insurgency too poses a serious challenge as protection of the predators have become difficult in the Naxal-hit areas.
This was evident in Simplipal in Orissa where Maoists attacked infrastructure facilities for forest officials.
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