Tigers endangered in half of Indian reserves
By Matthias Williams, NEW DELHI, Wed Dec 9, 2009 6:50am EST NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Tigers are in a “very, very precarious” state and could disappear altogether in nearly half of India’s tiger reserves, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said on Wednesday. India is a key player in efforts to conserve the dwindling global tiger population, which has plummeted to just a few thousand. Wildlife experts say tigers could be extinct in 20 years. Illegal poaching, fueled by a thriving trade in tiger parts, and natural habitat loss drove down numbers in India from about 40,000 a century ago to 1,411 at the last count in 2008. Ramesh said out of 38 government-monitored tiger reserves, 12 were in good condition and nine were satisfactory. “Seventeen are in a very, very, very precarious state,” he said. He did not specify how many tigers were at risk. “You could have a Panna or a Sariska in any of these 17 at any point of time,” he said, referring to two well-known reserves which lost their tiger populations. …
