INTERNATIONAL TIGER DAY
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- On the occasion of International Tiger Day (29th July), Prime Minister Narendra Modi appreciated all those people working to protect the Tiger.
- PM also said that innovative measures need to be taken to involve local communities to ensure tiger protection.
- International Tiger Day is annually celebrated on July 29 to raise awareness for tiger conservation.
- It was initiated in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit in Russia.
- The goal is to promote a global system for protecting the natural habitats of tigers and to raise public awareness and support for tiger conservation issues.
Tiger
- Tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest living cat species.
- It is an apex predator.
- Tiger cubs stay with their mother for about two years and then become independent, leaving their mother's home range to establish their own.
- Since the early 20th century, tiger populations have declined by at least 93%.
- Major reasons for population decline are habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation and poaching.
- Tigers are also victims of human-wildlife conflict, particularly in range countries with a high human population density.
- Today, the tiger's range is fragmented, stretching from Siberian temperate forests to subtropical and tropical forests on the Indian subcontinent, Indo-china and Sumatra.
- The tiger is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
- The tiger is the national animal of India, Bangladesh, Malaysia and South Korea.
- As of 2019, India’s Tiger population stands at a total of 2967 which is 70% of the global tiger population.
- India successfully fulfilled its target of doubling tiger numbers, made at St. Petersburg in 2010, much before the target year of 2022.
- The Indian states with the Tiger population:
- Madhya Pradesh – 526
- Karnataka – 524
- Uttrakhand – 442
- Maharashtra – 312