Project Tiger is started in?
VerifiedAnswer: 1973
Explanation:
Project Tiger was launched on April 1, 1973, as one of India's most ambitious wildlife conservation initiatives. This project was born out of the urgent need to save the critically endangered Bengal tiger, whose population had drastically declined due to hunting, habitat loss, and human encroachment.
The initiative was launched during the tenure of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who was deeply committed to environmental conservation. The project was conceived after a comprehensive tiger census in 1972 revealed that India had only about 1,800 tigers remaining in the wild, a shocking decline from an estimated 40,000 tigers at the beginning of the 20th century.
Project Tiger initially started with nine tiger reserves across different states in India. These reserves were carefully selected to represent various ecosystems and habitats where tigers naturally thrived. The project aimed to create safe sanctuaries where tigers could live, breed, and maintain viable populations without human interference.
The main objectives of Project Tiger included protecting tigers and their natural habitat, maintaining viable tiger populations in designated reserves, and preserving the ecological balance in these areas. The project also focused on relocating villages from core tiger areas to reduce human-tiger conflicts and provide undisturbed spaces for tigers to thrive.
Over the decades, Project Tiger has expanded significantly from its modest beginning of nine reserves in 1973. Today, India has over 50 tiger reserves covering approximately 72,000 square kilometers across 18 states. The project has been instrumental in increasing India's tiger population, which according to the latest census stands at nearly 3,000 tigers.
The success of Project Tiger has made it a model for wildlife conservation not just in India but globally. It demonstrates how dedicated conservation efforts, proper funding, scientific management, and community involvement can help bring a species back from the brink of extinction. The project continues to evolve with modern conservation techniques, including the use of camera traps, satellite monitoring, and genetic studies to better understand and protect tiger populations.
