The national animal of India is the tiger. Although there are plenty of people who will just know this from school, it is more interesting to actually think about why the tiger became the national animal.
in 1972 the Indian Board for Wildlife changed the animal to the tiger. This was due to the lion only living in a small area of the country (Gir forest, Gujarat) whilst tigers have historically roamed across huge areas of the country. From east to west, across the Sundarbans to the forested areas of the central highlands, Western Ghats and foothills of the Himalayas! The national animal should be something that is native to the whole country, not just one small area, and the tiger fits this much better.
Also, by the early 1970s the tiger population within India had drastically declined. This was due to decades of hunting by royals and sportsmen during the colonial period, and deforestation. At this time estimates showed that there were only around 1800 tigers left in the wild. This decision to make the tiger the national animal helped raise them to the forefront of people's minds. In April 1973, Project Tiger was launched by the government. This started with a few tiger reserves, the first being Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand. The goal of Project Tiger was to protect the tigers and their habitat by creating large protected areas. These areas are heavily patrolled to protect the tigers and allow them to breed. Project Tiger came after the Wildlife Protection Act in 1972.
This has been successful. There was a decline in numbers in the early 2000s due to poaching and illegal trade of tiger parts. This caused some reserves such as Sariska in Rajasthan to lose all their tigers. This led to stricter policies being put in place. The National Tiger Conservation Authority was formed in 2006, more patrols, relocation and more scientific counting methods. This has helped increase tiger numbers. Since then, the all-India tiger estimates have shown constant growth. In 2022 there were around 3600+ tigers in the wild. This is 3/4 of all wild tigers in the world. The exact numbers may vary depending on the counting method, however if you need an exact figure it would be best to look up the latest report from the National Tiger Conservation Authority or Wildlife Institute of India.
The Bengal tiger is one of the most recognisable big cat species. It has a beautiful golden orange fur with black stripes. White underbelly and facial features. Each tiger has a unique stripe pattern, helping researchers to identify individuals using pictures from camera traps. Males are quite large reaching 180-250kg and up to 3m long from nose to tip of tail. Females are smaller. Tigers are solitary hunters. They normally hunt at dusk and at night. They stalk their prey, which includes deer, wild boar and other large animals. Despite their size, they have an amazing stealth. Tigers are also great swimmers unlike many cats. They often take a swim to cool down. This is evident in the Sundarbans where mangrove swamp is home to tigers.
Tigers have lots of symbolism. They represent power, bravery, elegance and strength. They are found in many stories, temple carvings and are the mount of the goddess Durga. As a top predator they also indicate that the forest is healthy. If the area can provide tigers then it has lots of prey, clean water and a healthy habitat. Protecting tigers helps to protect a whole range of other species. Conservationists often refer to the tiger as an umbrella species.
However, they are still not safe. Tigers are an endangered species. They are still facing threats such as poaching, habitat loss and fragmentation and conflict with locals. Some tiger reserves have seen an increase in tiger numbers meaning they often stray into local villages. This can lead to attacks on livestock and occasionally humans. This will cause retaliation. Finding a balance between tigers and the local community is one of the biggest ongoing challenges. Therefore compensation schemes, community involvement and wildlife corridors linking reserves are vital. International Tiger Day (29th July) was created partly to highlight these issues.
The answer is simply the tiger. However, there is a lot more to this answer. It is a sad story, but the tiger was intentionally chosen over the lion. It was the start of an iconic conservation project and is a species that India has successfully brought back from a very low point.
