Every year, since 2010, the 29th of July is celebrated as the International Tiger Day to raise awareness about tiger conservation. India is home to over half of the world's tigers. New tiger populations are still being discovered, with one as recent as last year, in the Eastern Himalayas at altitudes of 3,630 metres. In 2010, India reportedly had 1,706 tigers, and this number increased to 2,226 in 2014. Isn't a 30% increase in population in just four years remarkable?

The first week of October is observed in India as the ‘Wildlife Week’.

In a recent article published in the `Science’ magazine, titled ‘When the cure kills—CBD limits biodiversity research’, researchers have questioned the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), a framework formulated to conserve biodiversity. 

Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB), Mumbai, have developed a new minimum opportunity cost targeting algorithm (MOCTA) to help organizations and institutions select the right environmental and conservation projects to pursue.

Scientists from National Center for Biological Sciences, Wildlife Conservation Trust, FERAL and University of Montana, examine genetic diversity of tigers in India to identify the importance of connected forest corridors to future populations and minimize their risk of extinction in the coming century.

Tigers face threats like degradation on habitats and conflict with humans that has caused their numbers in India to dwindle. When the number of members in a population goes down, the population faces another threat, inbreeding depression. Scientists from the National Center for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, study the genetic makeup of tiger populations to mediate the ill-effects of inbreeding depression.

Human Elephant conflict in India is hardly news, but the conflict is also faced by our neighbours in the north, Nepal. Scientists from Arkansas State University explore the degree and the reasons due to which elephants come in close contact with humans.

Tigers, a well-known member of the cat family and India’s national animal is unique in many ways. Once found abundantly in the tropics of Asia, tigers today have little to call home or family. Their numbers have seen a sharp fall in the recent years, thanks to habitat destruction and poaching. While conservation efforts are on to protect this endangered species, there is still a long way to go before these shy cats can roam the jungles as kings. Today, on the event of International Tiger Day, here is a snapshot on what’s troubling them and how we know about it.