An official report on the state of tigers in India published last year bares the stark reality of the possibility of a Tiger-less "Incredible India". It says that only 1411 have survived in the Indian wilderness, with statistical variance in place the figure could be as less than 1165 or as high as 1657.   A collapse of over 40 per cent in just the last ten years. Poaching, revenge killings, Chinese medicine, pelt sales, population and livestock pressures and deforestation are held up as the principle causes. It is no matter of discussion that the current systems in place are not working. - Ayush

A few key forest habitats around Kanha and Bandhavgarh (Madhya Pradesh), deciduous forests of Ranthambhore (Rajasthan), Nagarahole - Bandipur (Karnataka) and alluvial grasslands around Corbett, Dudwa and Kaziranga in the Terai, are home to almost 40 per cent of India’s tigers. These areas, not surprisingly, are also where the vast majority of wildlife tourism takes place, and some of the tourism zones within these regions hold the densest concentrations of tigers.

The size of a Tiger's territory depends on prey availability and it was believed to be in the region of 10-30 sq.km. However, it seems thatthis wasn't an

entirely correct estimate. The success of parks like Bandhavgarh (known to have densest tiger population in the world) has taken the whole territory study to a new level - there is a tiger almost every 5 sq. km in the tourist zone of the Bandhavgarh National Park. This pattern is maintained at all the other reserves (which are popular with the tourists) as well. The dynamics have changed in the 21st century.

The Brand Incredible India is finding a respectful place among the tourists at home and abroad. Empirical evidence abundantly proves that responsible tourism is good for the Tiger. The tourism based conservation initiatives have worked wonders in Africa, with species brought back from brink of extinction. In South Africa, wilderness tourism can generate US$12 per acre, per annum, compared to just US$3, per acre for agricultural land.

Tourism is also important because of the extraordinary protection through the passive patrolling and monitoring of their habitats. Tourism has a significant impact on the perceived status of a park and its ability to attract local, governmental or international funding enhances the motivation and quality of its rangers and management. The constant vigil and attention from conservationists, naturalist guides, visitors and hotel owners concerned over 'their' invaluable wildlife resource, ensures park staff and management are kept on their toes. Parks fail when communication and cooperation between the parties in the conservation equation deteriorates.

The local communities have to benefit from tourism for them to perceive the park as a profitable venture, because law does not allow them to use the forest produces that they used to enjoy. This is definitely the tough part with numbers like 100,000 people staying around Kanha National Park, but definitely an important aspect. They have to feel like stakeholders and only then will they protect the forest as  perceived "economic zones". The famous Tigress of Ranthambhore -"Machli" and the male Tiger of Bandhavgarh- "Charger" were recognized by TOFT for contributing almost 10 million US dollars per annum to the Ranthambhore economy and 8 million US dollars per annum to Bandhavgarh economy respectively.

India has an amazing 90 national parks and 482 wildlife sanctuaries, yet only handful of these are visited in any economically beneficial way by the tourist, and so only those handful carry a sizable breeding tiger population. Please note that most of these jungles are excellent tiger habitat but are suffering from not enough protection and lack of funds. There are downfalls to tourism too. Good rail connectivity and a mature hospitality industry makes Ranathambhore a quick get-away , at times , accommodating more tourists than the park can handle.This happens on public holidays when there are thousands of tourists wanting to enter the national park in-spite of the park officials increasing vehicles or having 20-seater canters, so more tourists can be accommodated in limited cars.

With tourism currently responsible for 9 percent of India's GDP and more than 50 million jobs, the numbers rising continually. There are a lot mobile Indians with leisure time on their hands wanting to click a picture of a Tiger in the wild. Already 90 percent of tourists visiting the parks are from home, this figure was 95 percent foreigners ten years ago.

Tourism could be the one of the answers for saving the tiger, but unfortunately time is running out for our Sher Khan.
- Ayush