Tiger territory up 30% between 2006 & 2018: Study

India's tiger territory increased by 30% between 2006 and 2018, as per a study. This growth occurred in regions populated by around 60 million people, challenging assumptions of incompatibility between tigers and humans. The research highlights the importance of protected core areas and identifies expansion potential in Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Jharkhand.

BENGALURU: India's tiger territory has increased over the last decade, even in areas marked as the world's most densely populated human settlements, a new study published in Science journal shows. This comes amid global wildlife population declining by 73%. The conservation success story reveals that tiger-occupied territory in India increased by 30% between 2006 and 2018, expanding at a rate of about 2,929 sq km per year.

India now hosts around 75% of the world's wild tigers across around 1.4 lakh sq km. Videos 58:58 President Droupadi Murmu's Mega Address To Joint Parliament Session | Budget 2025 9 hours ago 01:13 Budget Session 2025: FM Nirmala Sitharaman Tables Economic Survey | Watch 10 hours ago 12:02 Budget Session 2025: PM Narendra Modi Takes A Dig At ‘Shararati’ Opposition 10 hours ago 03:21 'Don't Give Me Gyaan': Blistering Faceoff Between Akhilesh Yadav & Anurag Thakur In Lok Sabha 185 days ago 06:57 Rahul Gandhi Vs Om Birla: Five Big Moments Of Fiery Faceoff & Jibes | Watch 185 days ago 07:25 'Adani-Ambani.

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"This sets a perfect narrative of wildlife-human co-occurrence ," the researchers note. But they stress that success depends on maintaining protected core areas within socioeconomically prosperous and politically stable regions. The study analysed data collected by 44,000 personnel over the years and found that tigers consistently occupied about 35,255 sq km of protected areas rich in prey species.

The study identifies several areas for potential future expansion of tiger populations, particularly in Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand..