India is now home to nearly 3,000 tigers, a third more than it had four years ago,

according to the latest tiger census.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who presented the findings on Monday, said the tiger
population had risen from 2,226 in 2014 to 2,967 in 2018.
He added that India is "now one of the biggest and most secure habitats of the tiger".
India is now estimated to be home to around 70% of the world's tigers.
India counts its tigers once every four years - it's a long, arduous task that involves
forest officials and scientists trekking across half a million square kilometres
(193,000 sq miles) looking for evidence of the tiger population.
Mr Modi said the results of this tiger census would make "every Indian happy".
This is a major conservation success, correspondents say. By one estimate,
between 1875 and 1925 alone, some 80,000 tigers were killed in India. Bounty and
sports hunting were rampant - kings and officials killed tigers in their thousands,
using guns, spears, nets, traps and poison. By the 1960s the number of tigers had
dwindled precipitously.
But a number of government initiatives to streamline tiger conservation - including a
ban on hunting and awareness drives in villages -are said to be behind the increase
of the population.
A strict wildlife protection law implemented in 1972 made it virtually illegal to kill or
capture wild animals even when "problem animals" were involved in severe conflict
situations. Under pressure from global conservationists, India also upped
investments to hire more forest guards and improve protection of reserves.
India is now home to nearly 3,000 tigers, a third more than it had four years ago,
according to the latest tiger census.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who presented the findings on Monday, said the tiger
population had risen from 2,226 in 2014 to 2,967 in 2018.
He added that India is "now one of the biggest and most secure habitats of the tiger".
India is now estimated to be home to around 70% of the world's tigers.
India counts its tigers once every four years - it's a long, arduous task that involves
forest officials and scientists trekking across half a million square kilometres
(193,000 sq miles) looking for evidence of the tiger population.
Mr Modi said the results of this tiger census would make "every Indian happy".
This is a major conservation success, correspondents say. By one estimate,
between 1875 and 1925 alone, some 80,000 tigers were killed in India. Bounty and
sports hunting were rampant - kings and officials killed tigers in their thousands,
using guns, spears, nets, traps and poison. By the 1960s the number of tigers had
dwindled precipitously.
But a number of government initiatives to streamline tiger conservation - including a
ban on hunting and awareness drives in villages -are said to be behind the increase
of the population.
A strict wildlife protection law implemented in 1972 made it virtually illegal to kill or
capture wild animals even when "problem animals" were involved in severe conflict
situations. Under pressure from global conservationists, India also upped
investments to hire more forest guards and improve protection of reserves.