Success of ‘Project Tiger’ is a matter of pride for whole world: PM Narendra Modi

 MYSURU (Karnataka): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the success of Project Tiger’ in India is a matter of pride not only for the country but for the whole world, as the country not only saved tigers but also provided an ecosystem for them to thrive on.

Addressing a gathering in Mysuru on the completion of 50 years of Project Tiger, PM Modi, while taking note of the rising numbers of tigers, said that this was a moment of pride.

“On the occasion of the completion of 75 years of independence, during this time around 75 percent of tigers are in India. In a period of 10 to 12 years, 75 percent of the tiger population had increased,” he said.

PM Modi further said that “wildlife lovers wondered why, when the number of tigers remained stable or decreased in other places, in India the numbers were growing fast. It is because of Indians’ reverence for nature.

“We are not seeing ecology and economy as a conflict, and coexistence is given importance. The society shared thousands of years of history with tigers. In Madhya Pradesh, 10,000-year-old rock paintings have pictures of tigers.

“The communities in central India worshipped tigers, and many others treated them as their family. The tiger is a mode of transport for Ma Durga and Ayyappa (Hindu gods). India is the only country where protecting nature is a part of the culture.

“This is why unique achievement in wildlife conservation is possible... with only 2.4 percent of the world’s land area contributing to 8 percent of known global diversity,” he explained.

PM Modi stated that India is the largest tiger-range country in the world. “With nearly 30,000 elephants, we are the largest Asiatic elephant country in the world. Our rhino population of 3,000 makes us home to the largest single-horn rhinos in the world. We are the only country to have Asiatic lions. They were 525 in 2015 and 675 in 2020. The number of leopards went up by 60 percent in four years.

“The work taken up to clean the River Ganga helped biodiversity and aquatic life that was in danger,” said PM Modi. He also stated that he was using his Gujarat experience as the CM for wildlife conservation. The increase in the number of big cats attracts a large number of tourists and helps the local economy, he added.

Earlier, the Prime Minister released the latest figures of the tiger census in the country on Saturday. The census showed that there has been a steady rise in the number of big cats. As per the census statistics, the number of tigers in the country has increased to 3,167 in 2022 from 2,967 in 2018. In 2006, there were 1,411 tigers in the country; in the 2010 census, there were 1,706; and in the 2014 census, there were 2,226. (IANS)

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