as part of preservation of wildlife. Back in 1973, Kailash Sankhala, a naturalist and conservationist, raised his voice against the decline in the number of tigers and initiated an innovative project by the name of Project Tiger. This project was aimed at saving tigers that were on the brink of extinction. Apart from saving the tigers this project also took charge of recognizing and preserving the tiger's natural habitat.
There are 39 tigers reserves in India and it's the country's national animal. Presently India has close to 1875 tigers, which is half the world's tiger population. Earlier in 2006 India witnessed a steady decline in the number of tigers, which had come down to 1411. Jim Corbett National Park and Sunderbans have been identified as the largest and oldest tiger reserves. In the current scenario Karnataka has overtaken Madhya Pradesh in terms of tiger population. Every year 29 July is celebrated as the International Tiger Day.
The Nehru Zoological Park is a habitat to 21 tigers out of which, there are 15 Royal Bengal tigers and 6 White tigers. Nihar Parulekar, Founder, Animal Rehabilitation and Protection Front (ARPF), says, “The Hyderabad zoo is one of the best places for the conservation of tigers. The breeding and conservation programme that the zoo has in place is one of the best. This is why the number of tigers in the reserves and even in the wild has increased. The artificial habitat that the zoo officials have created for the tigers is on similar lines to what they might have in the wild, with a water body and a few rock structures.“
According to A Shankaran, curator, Nehru Zoological Park, the tigers in the zoo have all the comforts they require like an in-house vet to take care of the big cats round the clock.
“The tigers are taken special care of especially during the breeding season, it is only then that the tiger and tigress are kept together in a cage. The tigress' blood is then tested at Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) to confirm whether she is pregnant.
After which she is given complete pre-natal and post-natal care,“ said the curator.
To commemorate the tigers, the Nehru Zoological Park has, in collaboration with MAAC (Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics) organised a `Save the Tiger' campaign. As part of the campaign they had invited 120 students who are undergoing a diploma course in 3 D animation. They were addressed by A Shankaran, about the importance of tigers in the ecosystem and how they play a pivotal role in the maintenance of environmental balance. The students took part in a silent walk through the zoo with boards that said, `Save the Tiger'. ARPF has also planned on a weeklong awareness campaign where in they will be visiting schools and colleges sensitizing the students towards tigers.
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