The population of tigers in the country has increased from 1,411 in 2006 to 3,682 in 2022, the government informed Parliament. Union Minister of Culture G. Kishan Reddy said this in a written response in the Lok Sabha.
Reddy was asked whether certain birds, flowers, animals, etc. in the country have been designated as national birds, national flowers, and national animals and provided protection along with the special status, keeping in view the sentiments of common people across the country. As informed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF and CC), the Government of India had notified tiger and peacock as national animals and national birds, respectively, the minister said in his response. “As the said notifications of the Government of India were not forthcoming in the official records of MoEF and CC for quite some time, the Ministry re-notified Tiger and Peacock as ‘National Animals and National Birds, respectively, on May 30, 2011,” he added.
Tiger and peacock have been included in Schedule-I animals of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, thereby “according them the highest degree of protection from hunting. In addition, important habitats for these animals have also been declared protected areas,” he said in his response. The population of tigers in the country has “increased from 1,411 in 2006 to 3,682 in 2022,” the minister said.
