Each year, July 29 is celebrated as International Tiger Day across the world. The day holds special importance in the life of wildlife enthusiasts, tiger lovers and conservationists, as it is a day that focuses on tiger conservation as well as creating awareness about it.
International Tiger Day or World Tiger Day is one the most important days in wildlife conservation which is celebrated each year on July 29. It throws light on the importance of tiger conservation and as well as why a tiger’s role in the ecosystem. Until a few years ago in India, tigers were on the brink of extinction, however, thanks to the conservation efforts and ‘Project Tiger’ that the feline was saved from it. Tiger Day marks a crucial day in ensuring that the big cats do not face a similar situation again and that their population only continues to flourish. Therefore, this day aims at protecting and expanding the habitat for tigers, creating awareness regarding their conservation and also sensitising people towards co-existence with them.
International Tiger Day Date and History: The day came into existence on July 29, 2010, during the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit in Russia. The idea was to spread the word about tigers, and their importance and to bring them out of extinction.
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International Tiger Day 2022 Significance: During the summit in Russia, it was found that 97 per cent of the tigers had disappeared in the last century, leaving alive only 3900 odd tigers across the world. This number was spread across 13 countries including India which is home to nearly 70 per cent of the world’s tiger population today. It was then decided by the representatives of these 13 countries that there was an immediate need to take steps in tiger conservation, and at the same time, be able to double the population by 2022.
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India and its tigers: India is home to the world’s maximum population of tigers in the world. It is said that around 70 per cent of the world's population of tigers, is found it be in India. As per the Tiger Estimation Report of 2018, India is home to 2,967 tigers spread across five tiger landscapes, 52 tiger reserves and 21 tiger states.
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Tiger State of India: Per the Tiger Estimation Report 2022, Madhya Pradesh became the ‘Tiger State of India’ with the maximum population of big cats prowling in its jungles. MP led the country with 526 tigers, followed by Karnataka with 524 and Uttarakhand with 442 tigers.
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Types of Tigers: There are reportedly nine sub-species of tigers, of which, three have become extinct today. The nine types of tigers are – The Royal Bengal Tiger, White Tiger, Siberian, Sumatran, Indochinese, Malayan, South China, Caspian, Bali and Javan. The last three sub-species of tigers have become extinct.