International Tiger Day is celebrated on July 29 every year to generate awareness regarding the dwindling population of the species. The population of the national animal of India has been affected by several factors like illegal wildlife trade, human wildlife conflict, habitat loss, and fragmentation.
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) numbers of the Wild Tiger dropped by more than 95% over the last 150 years. However, for the first time in their conservation history, WWF has observed that their numbers are on the increase.
2022, which happens to be Chinese year of the Tiger, has been marked as the year when WWF aims to help double the number of wild tigers to over 6,000. Currently the total population of tigers around the world is known to be at 3,900. Around 3,000 of those wild tiger populations are in India.
Before the population of the wild cat became endangered, tigers used to roam across most of Asia. At present their population is restricted to just 7 percent of their original range and are only found in isolated forests and grasslands across 13 countries in the world.
Let’s take a look at some facts that may enlighten you about the importance of this wild animal:
- What makes tigers important are their position in the food chain present in the ecosystem. Tigers keep their environment healthy by maintaining a balance in the food chain.
- Without enough tigers, herbivores can overgraze and damage the land which will eventually disrupt the balance of the local environment.
- Tigers are one of the stealthiest predators of the jungle. The large cats have soft toe pads which help them walk silently around their habitat. According to WWF a tiger will travel 9 to 19 kilometres during its nocturnal hunting routine.
- The United States has held more tigers in captivity than there are out in the wild.
- Tigers typically hunt deers. With one large deer as its prey, a tiger can satisfy its hunger for a week.
Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here.
Comments
0 comment