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A recent census in the Sunderbans delta in India’s West Bengal state has shown a sharp rise in the tiger population, project authorities said Monday.
“There is a phenomenal increase in the collection of pug marks during the weeklong tiger census conducted this month,” said K.C. Gayen, field director of the Sunderbans Tiger project.
Gayen expected a “quantum jump” in tiger numbers based on the census results that found 820 paw prints, up from 450 collected in 1995.
“What is more encouraging is that the 820 pug marks included those of 30 cubs, a sure sign of a healthy regeneration of the species,” Gayen said.
There were 242 tigers in the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve and 25 in the forests nearby, according to the 1995 census.
