The biggest of the cat family also has a day to celebrate.  In 2010, when it was discovered that 97% of the  wild tigers had disappeared, a day was decided at an international summit to dedicate to the remaining 3000 tigers. International World Tiger Day aims to bring attention to the  fact and try to halt their decline. Many factors have caused their numbers to fall, including habitat loss, climate change, hunting and poaching. At the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit in the year 2010 in Russia it  was declared that the aim will be to double global Tiger population by 2022.

On International Tiger Day , let us know some amazing facts about Tigers.

• A tiger’s legs are so powerful that it can stand on its legs even when dead.

• If one looks into a tiger’s eyes, it is less likely to kill you.

• Tigers do not view humans as prey.

• Tigers are best known to imitate the call of other animals to successfully attract prey.

• There are a greater number of tigers in captivity in the US alone than there are wild tigers left on earth…

 According to WWF, only 3,890 tigers are left in the world, of them, India with more than 2500 tigers has the highest number. On this occasion, special programmes are being organized all over the globe by many international organisations including the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), the IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) etc. organized events. Three subspecies have already gone extinct, Bali (1940s), Caspian and Javan (both 1970s), while no critically endangered South China tiger has been seen for a number of years, and it is feared it might too be extinct. Climate changing and poaching are adding to the extinction of the big cats.

As per the census, the highest number of tigers are found in Madhya Pradesh at 526, followed by Karnataka with 524 tigers and Uttarakhand with 442 tigers at number three. As per the report, the tiger population in the country has grown from 1,400 in 2014 to 2,977 in 2019.