Tiger population rises to 2,226, 30 pc increase from 2010

New Delhi:Tiger popula-tion in the country has risen to 2,226 in 2014, a 30 per cent increase since the last cou-nt in 2010, the latest census report said on Tuesday.
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar while releasing the country-wide tiger assessment report for 2014, termed the increase in the number of tigers as a “success story” and noted that while the population of this wild animal is falling in the world, it is rising in India.
“When we last counted the tigers, it was 1,706. The latest estimation shows there are 2,226 tigers. We must be proud of our legacy. We have increased by 30 per cent from the last count. That is a huge success story,” Javadekar said.
The total number of tigers was estimated to be around 1,706 in 2010. Tiger population had dipped to an alarming 1,411 in 2006 but has improved since then.
Officials said that a total of 3,78,118 sq km of forest area in 18 tiger states were surveyed with a total of 1,540 unique tiger photo captures. “Most of the tigers in the world are presently in India. 70 per cent of the world’s tigers are now in India. We have the world’s best managed tiger reserves,” Javadekar said.
He said that India has unique photographs of 80 per cent of tigers while stating that around 9,735 cameras were used in the estimation.(PTI)