A Royal Bengal tiger walks inside the Kaziranga National Park in Kaziranga. File
| Photo Credit: AP
GUWAHATI
Assam’s Kaziranga Tiger Reserve (KTR) has the highest density of tigers after Karnataka’s Bandipur Tiger Reserve and Uttarakhand’s Corbett National Park, said a report on the status of tigers in the wildlife preserve, better known for its one-horned rhinoceros.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma released the report online to mark the Global Tiger Day on Tuesday (July 29, 2025).
The report said 148 tigers were recorded across the 1,307.49 sq. km KTR in 2024. The “remarkable” increase in the tiger population from the estimation of 2022 was attributed to the first-ever sampling of the KTR’s Biswanath Wildlife Division, where 27 tigers were recorded.
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The tiger population grew from 104 in 2022 to 115 in 2024 in Kaziranga’s core Eastern Assam Wildlife Division, while the Nagaon Wildlife Division maintained the count of six tigers.
“From Kaziranga to Manas, Assam is not only limited to protecting the tiger, but it is also playing an important role in restoring the tiger’s habitat. With the third-highest tiger density in the world, extensive forest cover and bold steps against infiltration, the tiger, the treasure of Assam’s forests, is walking proudly and bravely today,” Mr Sarma said.
According to a comparative chart, the KTR has 18.65 tigers per 100 square kilometres. This was behind 19.83 in the 1,456 sq. km Bandipur Tiger Reserve and 19.56 in the 1,288 sq. km Corbett National Park.
KTR officials said the survey was carried out between December 2023 and April 2024 using camera traps following the protocol of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Wildlife Institute of India.
The spatially explicit capture-recapture method, which provides a more precise and ecologically relevant approach compared to conventional methods, was employed to estimate the tiger population and size.
“During the 103-day camera trapping survey, 13,157 trap nights yielded 4,011 tiger images in 242 locations. The right-flank stripe patterns were used to identify 148 adult tigers in KTR’s three divisions: 83 females, 55 males, and 10 individuals with undetermined gender,” the report read.
Officials said the key drivers of the rise in tiger population in KTR were habitat expansion and protection. An area of 200 sq. km, including 12.82 sq. km of encroachment-free area, was added in recent years under the Burhachapori-Laokhowa sanctuaries of the Nagaon Wildlife Division
“This strategic extension has significantly expanded the landscape available to tigers, allowing for increased movement, breeding, and dispersal opportunities across divisions,” an official said.
The first estimation in Kaziranga in 1997 yielded 80 tigers. The number gradually increased to 121 during the 2019 estimation, but dipped to 104 in 2022.
Published – July 29, 2025 03:20 pm IST