Why in news?  The ‘Status of Tigers, Co-predators, and Prey in India 2022’ report was published by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), and the Wildlife Institute of India

Highlights:

• India is a home to maximum of 3925 and an average number is 3,682 tigers , that is 75% to the global numbers
• Madhya Pradesh has the maximum number (785) of tigers in the country, followed by Karnataka (563), Uttarakhand (560), and Maharashtra (444).
• The most densely populated tiger reserve is highest in Jim Corbett , followed by Bandipur, Nagarhole , Bandhavgarh , Dudhwa and Mudumalai
• Arunchal Pradesh, Odisha , Telangana , Chattisgarh and Jharkhand recorded the dip in the population
• Central India and the Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Plains witnessed a notable increases in tiger population, particularly in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Maharashtra.
• Western Ghats witnessed a decrease in tiger occupancy, except for a few areas like Kali (Anshi Dandeli) national park that population remains stable
• Nagaland also does not have any tigers now and Eighteen tiger reserves have less than 10 big cats left according to the data
• Six tiger reserves in the country — Kali, Melghat, Pilibhit, Tadoba Andhari, Navegaon and Periyar — were given CAT awards

About Tiger Census

• The report is released by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in collaboration with the State Forest Departments, Conservation NGOs and coordinated by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII)
• It is conducted once in four years since 2006