International Tiger Day, History ,Theme and Status in India

Since 2010, every year, 29 July is observed as International Tiger Day. This day is also observed as World Tiger Day or Global Tiger Day. The Day is observed to raise public awareness about the threat faced by the Tigers due to illegal hunting and the destruction of their habitats due to human encroachment.

History of the International Tigers Day 

• Concern about the dwindling population of Tigers worldwide due to human population growth, deforestation, and hunting led to an international summit in the Russian city of St. Petersburg in 2010. 
• 13 major countries with significant tiger populations attended the meeting. 
• The 13 countries, including India, participating in the summit decided to observe 29 July as International Tiger Day to increase public awareness of the tigers' declining numbers, implement serious conservation measures, and prevent their extinction.
• They launched TX2 - the global goal to double the number of wild tigers by the year 2022. 
• The first Tiger Day was observed on 29 July 2010.

Theme of International Tigers Day 

The theme of the 2024 International Tiger Day is Call for Action.

This year's theme highlights the importance of concerted efforts from the global community to save the endangered TIger species on earth.

Status of Tiger in India 

To protect the endangered tiger population in India, the government of India declared the Tiger the national animal, replacing the Lion in 1973. The government of India, in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund, launched Project Tiger on 1 April 1973 to protect and conserve tigers in India.

• Under Project Tiger, dedicated sanctuaries for tigers were created in the wilds.
• Initially, there were nine Tiger reserves in India, but at present, there are 55.
• Dholpur-Karauli Tiger Reserve of Rajasthan is the 55th Tiger Reserve in the country.
• According to the All India Tiger Estimation 2022, there are 3,167 tigers in India, and more than 70% of the world's wild tiger population are found in India.
• State-wise, the maximum number of tigers is found in Madhya Pradesh (785), followed by Karnataka (563), Uttarakhand (560), and Maharashtra (444).
•  Amongst the Tiger Reserves maximum 260 is in Jim Corbett followed by Bandipur (150), Nagarhole (141), Bandhavgarh (135), Dudhwa (135), Mudumalai(114), Kanha (105), Kaziranga (104), Sundarbans (100), Tadoba (97), Sathyamangalam (85), and Pench-MP (77).
• After India, a maximum number of wild tigers are found in Russia.