236: India’s Tigers Up by 33%, But What is the Census Report Missing?

India’s tiger population has risen by 33% since 2014 and this good news came from PM Modi on the occasion of International Tiger Day no less. The last decade has had a major decline in the world's tiger population...so bad that only 3,900 tigers are estimated to remain in the world and India brings glad tidings with the increase of tiger population within its territory. The government data that was released on the occasion boasts that the total count has risen to 2,967 from 2,226 in 2014 - that's 741 more tigers! Great news right? The government maybe trying to protect tiger but it's also taking two steps backward. An IndiaSpend report (https://www.indiaspend.com/13-railway-projects-exempted-from-forest-approvals-risking-wildlife-sanctuaries/) found out that India’s environment ministry exempted 13 pending railway projects, worth Rs 19,400 crore from seeking forest permits that will affect a tiger corridor, a tiger reserve and a national park. So let's take a break from appreciating the government's efforts on tiger conservation, and take a deep dive into the tiger census itself. How do we measure, how do we know exactly know if we are doing a good job with tiger protection, how do we read between the lines of the government report (https://projecttiger.nic.in/WriteReadData/PublicationFile/Tiger%20Status%20Report_XPS220719032%20%20new%20layout(1).pdf) says? In this podcast, we will talk about all that and talk about how this census was conducted and how the numbers were arrived at. We also spoke to Natural historian and Wildlife Conservationist Valmik Thappar and Tiger Watch's field biologist Dr Dharmendra Khandel. Tune in!