Context:
Image of rare ‘golden tiger’ captured in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park.
Golden Tiger:
- Rare colour variant of Bengal Tiger.
- Called as ‘Tabby tiger’.
- Orange-yellow with black stripes and whitish abdominal region.
- A recessive gene mutation that gets expressed due to interbreeding.
- Reason for abnormal whitish colour
- Mutation in agouti gene – lack of yellow colour.
- Mutation in tabby genes – lack of black colour
- IUCN status – Endangered
Tiger Population:
- Habitat – Tropical rainforests, Evergreen forests, Temperate forest, Mangrove Swamps, Grasslands and Savannas
- 13 Tiger Range countries – India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Russia, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Loas and Vietnam
- As per the latest IUCN report, tiger has gone extinct in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam
- Conservation efforts –
- International Big Cat Alliance – Conservation of 7 Big Cats namely Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Cheetah, Jaguar and Puma
- Launched by India
- International Big Cat Alliance – Conservation of 7 Big Cats namely Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Cheetah, Jaguar and Puma
- T x 2 Campaign – Launched by WWF
- Protection Status –
- IUCN Red List – Endangered
- CITES – Appendix I
- International Tiger Day – 29th July
Tiger Population in India:
- India has the largest tiger population (70%)
- Leading State – Madhya Pradesh
- Concentrated in –
- Central Indian Highlands
- Eastern Ghats Landscape
Tiger Conservation in India:
- Royal Bengal Tiger is the national animal of India
- Acts /Schemes-
- Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 – identifies Critical Tiger Habitats
- Project Tiger, 1973
- Tiger Census (every 4 years)
- Tiger Task Force, 2005
- M- STrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers – Intensive Protection and Ecological Status)
- Bodies – National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)
- Under Wildlife Protection Act
- Tiger Reserves – Total 54 reserves
- Largest – Nagarjuna Sagar in Andhra Pradesh
- Smallest – Orang in Assam
Other important Tiger species:
White Tiger
- Called as Bleached tiger.
- Bengal or Siberian tiger with a rare colour mutation called leucism.
- Coated with white or near-white with black strips
- Reason for White colour –
- Leucism- recessive gene mutation that causes a lack of pigmentation in the fur, resulting in its unique white coat.
- Mutation in pheomelanin pigments – lack of the orange colour
- Indian states – Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Sunderbans region.
- IUCN status – Endangered
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Question
Among the following Tiger Reserves, which one has the largest area under “Critical Tiger Habitat”?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2020 Prelims]
(a) Corbett
(b) Ranthambore
(c) Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam
(d) Sundarbans
Answer: (c)