Lok Sabha Question No. 758 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-02-07
Subject: Counting of Wild Animals
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: JUGAL KISHORE SHARMA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.758 TO BE ANSWERED ON  07.02.2017

## Counting of Wild Animals

## 758. SHRI JUGAL KISHORE:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  counting  of  wild  cats,  lions,  tigers,  leopards,  panthers  etc.  has  been carried out in various wildlife sanctuaries in the country;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  year  in  which  counting  of  wild  animals was done last and the comparative data of every species of animals therein; and
- (c) the annual rate of increase in population of such animals, sanctuary-wise?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI ANIL MADHAV DAVE)

- (a), (b & (c) Census  of  major  flagship  species  is  undertaken  at  the  State-level  by  the respective State/Union Territory Governments periodically.  However census of tiger and elephant is undertaken at the national level once every four and five years respectively. State-wise comparative estimated population  of  tigers,  elephants,  rhino  and  lions,    as  available  with  the Ministry, is given in the Annexure.

There is a general trend of increase in the population of tiger, elephants, rhino and lions in the country.

****

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a)AND (b)OF THE LOK SABHA  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  758  REGARDING  'COUNTING  OF WILD ANIMALS' BY SHRI JUGAL KISHORE DUE FOR REPLY ON 07.2.2017.

## Details of tiger estimation pertaining to tiger landscapes in the country,

## for the years 2010 and 2014

|                                                                      | Tiger Population   | Tiger Population   | Trend                        |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------|--------------------|------------------------------|
| State                                                                | 2010               | 2014               | Increase / Decrease / Stable |
| Shivalik-Gangetic Plain Landscape Complex                            |                    |                    |                              |
| Uttarakhand                                                          | 227 (199-256)      | 340                | Increase                     |
| Uttar Pradesh                                                        | 118 (113-124)      | 117                | Stable                       |
| Bihar                                                                | 8 (-)              | 28                 | Increase                     |
| Shivalik Gangetic                                                    | 353 (320-388)      | 485 (427-543)      | Increase                     |
| Central Indian Landscape Complex and Eastern Ghats Landscape Complex |                    |                    |                              |
| Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana)                                 | 72 (65-79)         | 68                 | Stable                       |
| Chhattisgarh                                                         | 26 (24-27)         | 46                 | Increase                     |
| Madhya Pradesh                                                       | 257 (213-301)      | 308                | Increase                     |
| Maharashtra                                                          | 169 (155-183)      | 190                | Increase                     |
| Odisha                                                               | 32 (20-44)         | 28                 | Stable                       |
| Rajasthan                                                            | 36 (35-37)         | 45                 | Increase                     |
| Jharkhand                                                            | 10 (6-14)          | 3+                 | Decrease*                    |
| Central India                                                        | 601 (518-685)      | 688 (596-780)      | Increase                     |
| Western Ghats Landscape Complex                                      |                    |                    |                              |
| Karnataka                                                            | 300 (280-320)      | 406                | Increase                     |
| Kerala                                                               | 71 (67-75)         | 136                | Increase                     |
| Tamil Nadu                                                           | 163 (153-173)      | 229                | Increase                     |
| Goa                                                                  | -                  | 5                  | Increase                     |
| Western Ghats                                                        | 534 (500-568)      | 776 (685-861)      | Increase                     |
| North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra Flood Plains                     |                    |                    |                              |
| Assam                                                                | 143 (113-173)      | 167                | Increase                     |
| Arunachal Pradesh                                                    | -                  | 28 ♣               | Increase                     |
| Mizoram                                                              | 5                  | 3+                 | Stable                       |
| North West Bengal                                                    | -                  | 3                  | **                           |
| North East Hills, and Brahmaputra                                    | 148 (118-178)      | 201 (174-212)      | Increase                     |
| Sunderbans                                                           | 70 (64-90)         | 76 (92-96)         | Stable                       |
| TOTAL                                                                | 1706 (1520- 1909)  | 2226 (1945- 2491)  | Increase                     |

* Much of the tiger occupied areas could not be surveyed owing to naxal problem

** Tiger estimation was not done in the year 2010

## Population of wild elephants

| REGION               | STATE               | ELEPHANT POPULATION   | ELEPHANT POPULATION   |          |
|----------------------|---------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|----------|
|                      |                     | 2007                  | 2012                  | Trend    |
| North-East           | Arunachal Pradesh   | 1690                  | 890                   | Decrease |
|                      | Assam               | 5281                  | 5620                  | Increase |
|                      | Meghalaya           | 1811                  | 1811*                 | Stable   |
|                      | Nagaland            | 152                   | 212                   | Increase |
|                      | Mizoram             | 12                    | -                     |          |
|                      | Tripura             | 59                    | 59                    | Stable   |
|                      | West Bengal (North) | 300-350               | 647                   | Increase |
| Total for North-East |                     | 9305-9355             | 9239                  | Decrease |
| East                 | West Bengal (South) | 25                    | #                     |          |
|                      | Jharkhand           | 624                   | 688                   | Increase |
|                      | Orissa              | 1862                  | 1930                  | Increase |
|                      | Chhattisgarh        | 122                   | 247                   | Increase |
| Total for East       |                     | 2633                  | 2865                  | Increase |
| North                | Uttarakhand         | 1346                  | 1346*                 | Stable   |
|                      | Uttar Pradesh       | 380                   | 291                   | Decrease |
| Total for North      |                     | 1726                  | 1637                  | Decrease |
| South                | Tamil Nadu          | 3867                  | 4015                  | Increase |
|                      | Karnataka           | 4035                  | 5648-6488             | Increase |
|                      | Kerala              | 6068                  | 5942-6422             | Stable   |
|                      | Andhra Pradesh      | 28                    | 41                    | Increase |
|                      | Maharashtra         | 7                     | 4                     | Increase |
| Total for South      |                     | 14005                 | 15650-16970           | Increase |
| GRAND TOTAL          |                     | 27669-27719           | 29391-30711           | Increase |

## ANNEXURE-I C

## Population of Rhinoceros as reported by States

| Name of state   | No. of rhinoceros (Year of Census)   | No. of rhinoceros (Year of Census)   | Trend    |
|-----------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|----------|
| Assam           | 2505 (2012)                          | 2624 (2015)                          | Increase |
| Uttar Pradesh   | 30                                   | 34                                   | Increase |
| West Bengal     | 229 (2013)                           | 255 (2015)                           | Increase |

## Population of lion as reported by State Government of Gujarat

| Name of state   | No. of lion (Year of Census)   | No. of lion (Year of Census)   | Trend    |
|-----------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|----------|
| Gujarat         | 411 (2010)                     | 523 (2015)                     | Increase |