1411 – That is the number of tigers still living in India. This is just the official number. According to the Minister of Environment and Forests, Mr. Jairam Ramesh, this number is exaggerated, the real number is about 1000 and it is decreasing every day. These tigers are being poached and their skin is being sold. This is not just a problem in India, but also in other Asian countries like China and Malaysia. If this continues, this “beautiful beast” will soon disappear from the face of the earth.
The tiger, being the national animal of India, is also worshiped in some states of India. There was a recent issue where one of the tribes in Arunachal Pradesh was poaching a tiger for INR 1 Lakh, a place of worship.
The tiger can be tracked in many national parks in India like Ranthambhore National Park, Bandhavgarh National Park, Kanha National Park, Jim Corbett National Park, Kolkata Sunderbans etc. These parks are open a certain part of the year and the rest of the year they are closed for the tiger count, which is decreasing every day.
If you want to follow this elusive striped jungle cat, you can follow a trail through the National Parks of India. You can start from North India with Jim Corbett Park, which is located in the newly formed state of Uttarakhand. Named after the legendary hunter-turned-conservationist best known for hunting tigers and man-eating leopards, this National Park is spread over an area of more than 500 square kilometers in the foothills of the Himalayas. Besides the tiger, the other animals found in Corbett include the elephant, chital, sambar, nilgai, gharial, king cobra, muntjac, wild boar, hedgehog, common musk shrew, flying fox, the Indian pangolin and almost 600 species of birds. .
Corbett has been a favorite spot for tourists and wildlife lovers for a long time. Tourist activity is only permitted in selected areas of the Corbett Tiger Reserve so that people have the opportunity to view its splendid scenery and diverse wildlife. Jim Corbett National Park is a paradise for adventure seekers and wildlife seekers. Corbett National Park is the first national park in India and covers 520.8 km2. area of hills, river strips, swampy depressions, grasslands and a large lake. Elevation ranges from 1,300 feet to 4,000 feet. Winter nights in Corbett National Park are cold but the days are bright and sunny. It rains from July to September. You can enjoy one of the tiger safaris here and get a chance to see the beautiful Bengal tiger along with the other species of the different animals that reside here. Corbett National Park is located about 300 km from New Delhi, which is the nearest airport, and about 55 km from Ramnagar, which is the nearest railway station. You can start from New Delhi/Ramnagar and rent a vehicle to Jim Corbett National Park. Most of the vehicles that take you on a safari are a Jeep or a Canter. A jeep is usually 06 seats and a gallop has capacity for about 20 passengers.
From Jim Corbett National Park, you can return to Delhi and take a train to Sawai Madhopur to visit Ranthambhore National Park. Ranthambhore National Park is considered to be one of the famous and ancient hunting grounds of the Maharajas of Jaipur and today the land is a major wildlife tourist attraction spot which has caught the attention of many photographers and wildlife lovers. wild in this destination.
Ranthambhore National Park is spread over an area of 1,334 square kilometers along with its nearby sanctuaries like Mansingh Sanctuary and Kaila Devi Sanctuary. The park is one of the best places in India to see the majestic predators in their natural habitat. Tigers can be easily seen even during the day, engaged in their ordinary search, hunting, and properly caring for their young. The park is one of the reserves of the Project Tiger of India.
A good time to visit Ranthambore National Park is in November and May, when the nature of the dry deciduous forests makes sightings common. There are lodges and resorts near the park where one can stay while visiting the park. Here you can enjoy the different safaris to spot tigers as well as other fauna such as leopard, nilgai, dhole, wild boar, sambar, hyena, sloth bear and chital. It is also home to a wide variety of trees, plants, birds, and reptiles. Ranthambore is also the site of one of the largest banyan trees in India.
In 2005, there were 26 tigers living in Ranthambhore. This was significantly lower than the reserve’s recorded tiger population in 1982, which then stood at 44. This is sad to see that numbers are rapidly declining due to poaching. The authorities have become stricter now. In 2005, Rajasthan and the Indian government established high-powered committees to investigate the state of Ranthambhore and suggest measures to improve the situation. This brought Ranthambore and the tiger crisis in India back to the spotlight and since then the forest and police department stepped up protection around the tiger reserve. Since then there have been no reports of poaching around Ranthambore and a large number of tiger cubs were born between summer 2005 and summer 2006.
From Ranthambhore you can continue to Bandhavgarh National Park by taking a train via Agra to Umaria. Bandhavgarh National Park is spread out in the Vindhya Hills in Madhya Pradesh. Bandhavgarh National Park consists of a core area of 105 square kilometers and a buffer area of approximately 400 square kilometers of topography that varies between steep, rolling ridges, forest, and open grassland. The density of the tiger population in Bandhavgarh is the highest known in India. Bandhavgarh National Park was the former hunting ground of the Maharaja of Rewa and today is a famous natural center for white tigers. White tigers, now a major attraction in the world’s zoos, were first discovered in Rewa, not far from here.
Besides tigers, wildlife here includes gaur (Indian bison), sloth bear, leopard, porcupine, wild boar, sambhar, and spotted deer among others. The ideal season for tiger watching is from November to June.
From Bandhavgarh, visit the Kanha National Park which is in the same state of Madhya Pradesh. Kanha national park is located in the Banjar and Halon valleys in the Mandla/Balaghat districts. Stretching over 940 square kilometers in a horseshoe-shaped valley bounded by the foothills of the Mekal mountain range, the park features a varied topography.
Kanha National Park is most famous for its wildlife; the natural beauty of its landscape is just as fascinating. One of the best places to enjoy such bounty is Bammi Dadar, also known as the sunset point. Kanha’s lush salt and bamboo forests, grassy meadows and ravines inspired Rudyard Kipling’s famous novel “The Jungle Book.”
Kanha is also home to one of the largest tiger populations in the country (131 tigers as of June 2006). Some of the other larger animal species found in the park are the sloth bear, leopard, striped hyena, warthog, jungle cat, jackal, and a variety of monkeys. More than 200 species of birds have been seen in the park.
Although India used to have a large population of tigers, the number is rapidly declining every day due to poaching for their precious fur. It’s sad to see parks like Jim Corbett now used for entertainment like weddings, bike races, and dancing in the rain. Also some tribes in Arunachal Pradesh kill the very tigers they worship for money. Is this what humanity is becoming?
Before this beautiful, elegant and magnificent beast disappears from the face of the earth anytime soon, it’s time we DO SOMETHING.
SAVE THE TIGER NOW!!