Vikas Singh Baghel
Founder & Chief Editor
On the occasion of Global Tiger Day July 29th this year a detailed report on the All-India Tiger Estimation 2022 was released in which according to the Wildlife Institute of India’s (WII) 5th quadrennial tiger census, India’s tiger population increased to 3,682 in 2022. The numbers in the report, revised from 3167 earlier, reflect a commendable annual growth rate of 6.1% per annum. The largest tiger population of 785 is in MP, followed by Karnataka (563), Uttarakhand (560) and Maharashtra (444). The tiger abundance within the Tiger
Reserve is highest in Corbett (260), followed by Bandipur (150), Nagarhole (141), Bandhavgarh (135) and Dudhwa (135). As per report Central India, the Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Plains witnessed a notable increase in tiger population, while the Western Ghats experienced localised declines, necessitating targeted monitoring and conservation efforts and Some states, including Mizoram, Nagaland, Jharkhand, Goa, Chhattisgarh and Arunachal Pradesh, have
reported disturbing trends with small tiger populations. World’s most successful tiger revival at Panna from ZERO to 55-64 tigers paved the way for the tiger revival story of the state from 257 to 785 between 2009 and 2022 respectively
opened some new windows and avenues of tiger conservation scope at state,
national and international level and is the cover story of this edition.
The community has always been an integral part in conservation. The ir
indigenous knowledge and adaptability to live and co-exist in the wild make
them special in all ways. Empowering Indigenous Community is empowering
our Conservation efforts and goals. There is great potential for a harmonious
coexistence between conservation and human well-being.
Ramsar identifies wetlands of international importance, especially those
providing waterfowl habitat. Sirpur lake has been accorded the coveted status
of a Ramsar Site in August 2022. Yashwant Sagar Lake is the second wetland of
Indore district to have been awarded the status of Ramsar site. This was part of
a drive during the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations for the 75th anniversary of Indian independence to take the number of Ramsar sites in the country
to 75. Madhya Pradesh now has four Ramsar sites.
Tigers mind their own business if not persecuted. The tigers of Bhopal are
examples. The restraint shown by the public and media of Bhopal is another
example of a sensible reaction to tiger presence in a city that has intruded into
the tiger habitat. Because of the lack of systematic information on the avian
community of the Kumaon Himalayas Endemic and Range Restricted bird,
data is not properly maintained, specially in the avian hot spot of Sattal and
Pangot the article inside focusses on some of the endemic avifauna species of
the region
Scorpions are familiar to humans as bizarre arachnids with a pair of hand
like pincers, a segmented tail arched with a stinger at the tip.Scorpions are
worshipped in many cultures as good and evil characters. But a common perception about scorpions al- ways goes towards an aggressive and dangerous
animal.
As we all know that Project Cheetah has completed 01 year and currently,
14 adult cheetahs and one cub are surviving and all the cats are in some form
of captivity or the other. That, in a nutshell, is the status of the Cheetah Project
a year after implementation. The key lessons from the last year are the need to
respect and incorporate the best available scientific knowledge in the planning,
implementation and monitoring of a project of this scale.
The project’s goal is to establish a viable cheetah meta population in India
that allows the animal to perform its functional role as a top predator and provides space for the expansion of the cheetah within its historical range.
We are all pretty hopeful to see them in the wild and prosper in India…