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Tiger may disappear in 10 yrs, Forest Minister unmoved
Published on Tue, Feb 12, 2008 at 23:42, Updated at Wed, Feb 13, 2008 in 
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TIGER CENSUS: The tiger is present only in seven per cent of its geographical area.
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According to the latest census there are just 1,411 tigers left in India.
New Delhi: The magic figure is finally out. The Ministry of Environment and Forests on Tuesday finally announced just how many tigers India has. The number is 1,411 and with the graph on a downward curve, Project Tiger has come to the point where it first started 30 years ago.
A look at the figures from 2002 and 2006 tell the story:
- In Madhya Pradesh, the number of tigers has more than halfed from 710 in 2002 to 300 tigers in 2006.
- In Orissa, the tiger population has gone down from 173 to just 45 tigers.
- The figures are just as dismal in Maharashtra, form 238 in 2002 to 103 tigers in 2006.
Head National Tiger Conservation Authority, Rajesh Gopal says, "We have suggested a way forward for states and this is going to be a starting point for rebuilding tiger conservation."
It was only in 2006 that the Ministry of Environment and Forests changed the method of counting tigers.
The earlier method of using pugmarks to count tigers has been supplemented with additional scientific methods like the Camera Trap Method and recording prey densities of animals like the deer and the chinkara.
However, the Minister for Environment and Forests, Reghupathy, believes there is no cause for worry.
"Their numbers have declined only outside protected areas. Inside they are fine," says he.
The tiger is present only in seven per cent of its geographical area. As its numbers crash, it is clear that the tiger is not only India's most endangered but perhaps the most controvercial cat.
If urgent steps are not taken, scientists say the tiger may be gone within the next decade.
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The government should stop doing paper work and start on work related to protection or else send them to environmental
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