When earlier this month the Ministry of Environment and Forest declared that the tiger population of India was on rise for the first time in years it was met with great expectations and a ray of hope for the endangered species. But ever since this claim of rise in number in a century was made, wildlife conservationists and scientific community have been quite critical as they have to present other side of the story.
This week, Wildlife Protection Society of India released its quarterly poaching toll data and revealed that more tigers - 28 - have been killed throughout India in the first quarter of this year than all of last year - 25.
The major concern here is that tigers need to be saved from potent poaching. There is a lack of proper enforcement of laws and demand for tiger parts is also there which serve as one of the reasons why tiger are being poached.
However, the international conservation community's goal is to double the tiger population by 2022 which is regarded by the community as a challenge in itself. But habitat loss and poaching need a check. There is also a need to improve the monitoring techniques and cameras.