23rd April 2023: But what is the excitement all about? Did you know that the declining population of Tigers was recovered? To what extent? Read to know!
In the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior, On Thursday, a 10-year-old white tigress there gave birth to three cubs, bringing the total number of tigers and other big cats there to ten, an official said.
According to the zoo officials, one of these cubs is white, while the other two are yellow and they are all healthy. The birth of the cubs marks the third time that Meera, the tigress, gave birth.
Dr. Upendra Yadav, the veterinarian in charge of the zoo declared "A female tiger Meera has given birth to three cubs on Thursday (April 20), which one is white and two are yellow. Meera was born here in this zoo in 2013 and she has given birth to cubs for the third time,"
Meera first bore three cubs, then two, and now three cubs again. The zoo keeps stating that the zoo administration is taking extra care of them in accordance with the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) guidelines.
After birth, the veterinarian shared that, "The mother tiger becomes quite aggressive at this moment so nobody is allowed to enter there.” The doctor also added that they make the entire place germ-free and forbid any more animal keepers because there may be infection risks. The mother tiger prefers to take care of the cubs by herself and thus in order to keep her healthy and fit, the administration enhanced the mother's food by adding more chicken, soup, and milk in the morning and evening.
A National assessment for the “Status of Tigers, Co-predators, Prey and their Habitat” once in every four years. The methodology used for this assessment was approved by the Tiger Task Force in 2005. The first assessment based on this scientific methodology was done in 2006 and subsequently in 2010, 2014 and 2018.
In 2006, the tiger population was estimated at 1,411 which was much lower than the earlier official estimates. This brought about major changes in tiger conservation policy, legislation, and management. Special stress was laid on village relocation from core/critical tiger habitats and enhancing protection by creating the Special Tiger Protection Force. Subsequently, these concerted actions resulted in an upward trend in the tiger population as documented by the 2010 population estimates of 1,706.
India now has 70 % of the global tiger population at 2,226.