The tiger reserves in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

were set up as a part of

Project Tiger Project Tiger is a wildlife conservation movement initiated in India to protect the endangered tiger. The project was initiated in 1973 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Government of India. As of March 2025, there ...

initiated in 1973 and are administered by the

National Tiger Conservation Authority The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is a wildlife conservation agency formed to protect the endangered Bengal tiger in India. It was established by the Government of India under Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in ...

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. As of March 2025, there are 58

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

s that have been designated as tiger reserves. As of 2023, there were 3,682 wild tigers in India, which is almost 75% of the world's wild tiger population.

Goal

As per the section 38 of the

Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted for the protection of plants and animal species. Before 1972, India had only five designated national parks. Among other reforms, the Act established schedule ...

, the state governments are responsible preparing a Tiger Conservation Plan which includes planning and management of notified areas and maintaining the requisite competent staff to ensure the protection of the tiger reserve and providing inputs for maintaining a viable population of tigers, co-predators and prey animals.

Tiger population

In 2006, it was estimated that there were 1,411 tigers living in the wild, the lowest ever recorded. The 2010 National Tiger Assessment estimated the total population of wild tigers in India at 1,706. As per

Ministry of Environment and Forests The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is an Government of India, Indian government Ministry (government department), ministry. The ministry Portfolio (government), portfolio is currently held by Bhupender Yadav, Union ...

, the wild tiger population in India stood at 2,226 in 2014 with an increase of 30.5% since the 2010 estimate. In 2018, according to the National Tiger Conservation Authority, there were an estimated 2,967 wild tigers in existence in India. The wild tiger population increased to 3,682 as of 2022. As India is home to majority of the global wild tiger population, the increase in population of

tigers in India Tigers in India constitute more than 70% of the global population of tigers. Tigers have been officially adopted as the List of national animals, national animal of India on the recommendation of the National Board for Wildlife since April 1973. I ...

played a major role in driving up global populations as well; the number of wild tigers globally rose from 3,159 in 2010 to 3,890 in 2016 according to

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the ...

and Global Tiger Forum.

Tiger reserves

Tiger reserves were set up as a part of Project Tiger initiated in 1973 and are administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority of Government of India. Tiger reserves consist of a core area which includes part(s) of protected areas such as a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

or a

wildlife sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...

and a buffer zone which is a mix of forested and non-forested land. Project tiger is aimed at performing the necessary activities to ensure viability of tiger population in the core area and to promote a balance between the existence of people and animals in the buffer zones. In 1973, nine protected areas were initially designated as tiger reserves. By the late 1980s, the initial nine reserves covering an area of had been increased to 15 reserves covering an area of . More than 1100 tigers were estimated to inhabit the reserves by 1984. By 1997, 23 tiger reserves encompassed an area of . As of March 2025, there are 58

s that have been designated as tiger reserves. *

Amangarh Tiger Reserve New Jim Corbett Park also known as Amangarh Tiger Reserve, is a Tiger Reserves of India, Tiger Reserve under Project Tiger in India. It is in Amangarh in Bijnor district in the state of Uttar Pradesh. It has an area of 95 km2 and is one among ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

is a

buffer zone A buffer zone, also historically known as a march, is a neutral area that lies between two or more bodies of land; usually, between countries. Depending on the type of buffer zone, it may serve to separate regions or conjoin them. Common types o ...

Jim Corbett National Park Jim Corbett National Park is a national park in India located in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand state. The first national park in India, it was established in 1936 during the British Raj and named ''Hailey National Park'' after Willi ...

and may not be regarded as a separate tiger reserve. It has a buffer zone of but no core area of critical tiger habitat. * **As of 2025, Madhav Tiger Reserve is home to five tigers, including two recently born cubs. The reserve’s tiger population was boosted through a tiger reintroduction project initiated in 2023, where three tigers were relocated to the park.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiger Reserves Of India

Tiger reserves of India The tiger reserves in India were set up as a part of Project Tiger initiated in 1973 and are administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority of Government of India. As of March 2025, there are 58 protected areas that have been designated ...

Wildlife conservation in India Conservation-reliant species