International Tiger Day is celebrated every year to raise awareness about the conservation of tigers, which have been declared an endangered species in many parts of the world. Also known as Global Tiger Day, the special day holds immense significance, as over the last 150 years the world has witnessed a massive drop in the tiger population.

Amid the declining number of tigers, several nations have taken crucial measures towards curbing poaching, habitat loss, illegal wildlife trade, and avoiding human-animal conflicts. These measures have shown a positive result in the conservation of tigers in many countries.

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History

Shockingly, by 2010 the tiger population declined to an all-time low and it was just 3200 across the globe. This alarmed many nations to take immediate steps toward the conservation of the big cats. Global Tiger Day was first proposed at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit in Russia in 2010. Many nations became signatories of an agreement to protect the tigers. These nations included thirteen tiger range countries like India, Russia and China among others.

The countries agreed to a resolution at the Saint Petersburg Summit to double the number of tigers by 2022, which is also the Chinese year of Tiger. As per World Wide Fund for Nature, this project is known as TX2. As of now, this is considered the most ambitious conservation goal for any wild species.

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Theme

It is believed that securing the tiger’s future is so much more than just saving an iconic species. Surprisingly, tigers are found only in 13 nations, of which India is home to 70 percent of the population of big cats. Every year the day is celebrated under different themes, and this year the theme for Global Tiger Day is “India launches Project Tiger to revive the tiger population”. Last year, the day was celebrated under the theme of “Their survival is in our hands”.

Interestingly, as per the fourth round of the national assessment of tiger numbers done in 2018, India has 2,967 tigers.

(Edited by : Priyanka Deshpande)

First Published:Jul 29, 2022 7:36 AM IST