TIGER IN INDIA :

Indian Tiger:

Tiger Reserves in India :

India today has the largest number of tigers in the world, between 3,600 to 4,000 in number. The tiger population is widely distributed over the forests of India ranging from the sub-alpine Himalayas to down south and across east-west, but excluding Kashmir valley and the desert and arid portions of Rajasthan and Kutch.

But the fact remains that the tiger is in danger of extinction. The Project Tiger was launched in India in 1973-74 as a conservation programme for saving the Indian Tiger Population. Now there are 28 tiger reserves in India.




 About Tiger


India contains 60% of the world's tigers; as recently as 1970 it was still legal to hunt them and to export skins. During the 1950s and early 1960s it is recorded that more than 3,000 tigers lost their lives to trophy hunters, most of these being tourists. Project Tiger was launched on April 1, 1973 on the basis of the recommendations of a special task-force of the Indian Board for Wildlife




Tiger   ( Panthera tigris ) :

Tigers are well known for their immense strength and power. They are known to bring down animals weighing almost ten times their own weight and then dragging them away to shelter. A tiger itself weighs between 130 - 180kgs. A majority of this consists of muscle mass as the skeleton itself is relatively small and fragile.

Tigers grow to an average height of 90cms. Their main prey species are herbivores, the favorites being Sāmbhar and Spotted deer. They eat an average of 5 kgs in a sitting and can eat up to 25 kgs in a day. A kill can feed a tiger for 2 - 4 days. Tigers mostly do not try and make another kill immediately after finishing with the previous one.

They usually give a 2-3 break before setting out on the next hunt. They have a life expectancy ranging from 15 - 20 years. Their breeding season begins towards the end of the monsoons and carries into the early months of winter.

The mates stay together for a period of approximately 10 days. The gestation period is a short one of 105 days. Tigresses give birth to 3 - 6 cubs.
The mortality rate of infants is quite high and usually only a couple of cubs live long enough to explore the territory of even their mother.

Tiger Habitat:

A tiger's habitat is dependant on two basic factors. Firstly, it should provide good cover for stalking and secondly, it should have a good abundance of prey. Due to this, the tigers' domain covers almost every corner of India.

It is found in the lower Himalayan mountainous regions of the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal. Although not as easy to sight due to the dense forests or the north eastern region, its presence can definitely be felt from the alarmed calls of the rest of the animals.
Tiger habitat is primarily dependant on two factors - abundance of prey and good cover for stalking






The plains of the central region are where it is flourishing (by present standards) the most. It can be found in almost all of the numerous wildlife reserves in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The desert state of Rajasthan in the west also boasts of some excellent reserves such as Ranthambore, which are famous for their tiger populations.

In the south, the tiger’s population is widespread in the evergreen forests there, which stretch across the various states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In the eastern state of West Bengal, they thrive among the mangrove swamps of the Sunder ban National Park. In this park they have adapted to a habitat mainly consisting of mangroves distributed over numerous islands separated by saline water.




The tiger has shown its ability to adapt to various habitats. The main problem it faces is the disappearance of land in general, which is not being overrun by man.

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