The population of tigers in the country has increased from 1,411 in 2006 to 3,682 in 2022, the government informed the Parliament on Monday. Union culture minister G. Kishan Reddy said this in a written response in the Lok Sabha.
Reddy was asked whether any bird, flower or animal had been designated as the national bird, national flower or national animal and provided protection along with the special status, keeping in view the sentiments of people across the country. The minister replied that he had been informed by the ministry of environment, forest and climate change that the tiger and peacock were notified as ‘national animal’ and 'national bird' respectively.
"As the said notifications of the Government of India were not forthcoming in the official records of MoEF&CC for quite some time, the Ministry renotified Tiger and Peacock as 'National Animal’ and National Bird' respectively, on 30th May 2011," he added.
The tiger and the peacock are included in Schedule 1 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, which gives them "the highest degree of protection from hunting. In addition, important habitats of these animals have also been declared as Protected Areas," he said in his response. He added that the population of tigers in the country has "increased from 1,411 in 2006 to 3,682 in 2022."
