It is official now. The final tiger census figures released today show a sharp dip. There are now 1,411 tigers as compared to 3,508 in 1997. In 1972, a year before Project Tiger was launched, there were 1,827 tigers in India.

Areas like Bandhavgarh and Ranthambore, once a rich reserve of tigers, have seen the sharpest dip in numbers. The report calls for urgent conservation measures in these areas.

Releasing the final figures today after surveying 17 parks, the government refused to see its dark implications. Rajesh Gopal, Member Secretary, Project Tiger said, “the assessment shows that though the tiger has suffered due to direct poaching, loss of quality habitat, and loss of its prey, there is still hope.”

The government has declared eight more new tiger reserves. Gopal said an area of around 31,111 sq km of tiger habitat has been notified/ identified by tiger states as per provisions of the Wildlife (Protection Act).

This time, the census used a new method that combines field surveys and statistical estimation instead of the pugmark method followed earlier. This system uses remote sensing, GIS, in combination with high resolution spatial data based on sign surveys and camera trapping. In the process, the final census monitors tiger population as well as its prey population.

The new census was initiated by the government after The Indian Express investigations revealed that there were no tigers left in the Sariska tiger reserve.

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