- Tiger is one of the key wildlife species in the faunal web.
- In 1973 , the authorities realised that the tiger population had decreased to 1,827 from an estimated 55,000 at the turn of the century.
- There are numerous threats to th e tiger population such as poaching for trade, shrinking habitat, depletion of prey base species, growing human population , etc.
- The trade of tiger skins and the use of their bones in traditional medicines , especially in the Asian countries, left the tiger population on the verge of extinction .
- India and Nepa l provide habitat to about two-thirds of the surviving tiger population in the world, these two nations became prime targets for poaching and illegal trading.
- “ Project Tiger’ ’, was launched in 1973.
- Tiger conservation has been viewed not only as an effort to save an endangered species , but with equal importance as a means of preserving biotypes of sizeable magnitude.
- Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand , Sunderbans National Park in West Bengal, Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh, Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary in Rajasthan , Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam and Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala are some of the tiger reserves of India .
