For India’s tigers, true success means staying wild, CCMB scientist
HYDERABAD: India has achieved a monumental conservation success, becoming home to over 75% of the world’s wild tigers. But a tiger is not just a number. Dr. P. Anuradha Reddy, Senior Principal Scientist at CSIR-CCMB, says true victory isn’t just about counting more cats. It’s about making sure every tiger stays truly wild. She shared this insight in a recent webinar tited “Where Will Our Tigers Go?” hosted by Wishwa Talks.
Dr. Reddy, whose work over two decades has used genetic tools to conserve species like tigers, elephants, and gaur, highlighted that India now holds over 75% of the global tiger population and is the only country to meet the international goal of doubling tiger numbers by 2022. This success comes from the 58 tiger reserves established since Project Tiger’s launch in 1973.
However, the scientist urged the audience to look beyond the numbers. Presenting a historical map from another research, she noted that tigers once roamed 36 Asian nations but have now vanished from 26, losing over 92% of their original habitat. “India’s tiger populations are embedded in some of the highest human densities in the world,” she said. “While we have protected areas, they are often fragmented islands.”
A key part of her presentation focused on tiger behaviour, especially dispersal. Young males, in particular, make long-distance movements to establish territories. “This is a critical behaviour we cannot ignore,” Dr. Reddy stressed. She explained that the usual pattern of female tigers staying near their birthplace and males dispersing occurs only in optimal habitats like the well-connected forests of Nagarhole and Bandipur.
Wildlife conservation
In contrast, in resource-scarce or highly fragmented landscapes like Central India, both sexes are forced to move, turning some reserves into transit points rather than breeding grounds. The degradation of tiger movement links, she warned, leads directly to increased human-tiger conflict, as seen around Tadoba in Maharashtra.
Anuradha Reddy cautioned that with current forest conditions, India may be reaching a saturation point for tiger numbers within isolated reserves. Future growth depends on securing and improving the connective forest network. “We cannot trap tigers inside reserves and just increase numbers,” she stated. “The intervening forests must be protected.”
Equally important is preserving the natural behaviours that define a wild tiger. Dr. Reddy discussed complex mate selection, driven by genetic cues to ensure healthy offspring, which pose challenges for reintroduction programs. The ultimate goal, she emphasised, is not just more tigers, but tigers free to perform their ecological roles. “Unless they can move, explore, and find mates freely, the main purpose of conserving this species is lost.”
The scientist concluded by acknowledging India’s success but called for a broader vision. Conservation must look beyond protected area boundaries to safeguard corridors, reduce poaching driven by international trade, and balance unavoidable development with ecological needs.
