A Bengal tiger in India’s Kanha National Park. CHARLES JAMES SHARP VIA WIKIPEDIA

Tigers were an important part of our lives when this platform started, and for the following few years of our time in Kerala. We have retained an interest, so this news is welcome all these years later:

Wild Tiger Numbers 40 Percent Higher Than Previously Estimated

The number of endangered tigers around the world is 40 percent higher than previously thought, according to new data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).The group estimates that there are between 3,726 and 5,578 tigers in the wild, up significantly from its last assessment in 2015. The new total is a reflection of both improved monitoring and the impact of conservation efforts.

“Although tigers are still endangered, their populations appear to be stable or increasing,” Jon Paul Rodríguez, chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, said in a statement. “We need to learn from these conservation successes, share them with the public, and increase our investment in evidence-based conservation action.”

Since 2014, India has created 14 new tiger reserves covering a combined area of 5,800 square miles, according to a recent report from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). In 2015, Russia created Bikin National Park, a 4,600-square-mile forest where tigers roam. And in 2017, China established the largest tiger protected area in the world, a 5,600-square-mile park along its borders with Russia and North Korea…

Read the whole article here.