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Earning their stripes.(ASIA)(protecting tigers in India)(Brief article)
- Article from:
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Earth Island Journal
- Article date:
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June 22, 2008
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Copyright informationCOPYRIGHT 2008 Earth Island Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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India's entire population of tigers is estimated at 1,411. It's very likely that the figure is so low, the number isn't even being rounded to the nearest hundred; those extra 11 tigers make a big difference. This sorry figure is half of the estimated 2002 population, and about 3.5 percent of what it was 100 years ago.
Saving the tigers of India will mean spending a lot of money. Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram recently announced the government's plan to use $12.5 million to create a Tiger Protection Force. Until now, tigers have been left virtually unprotected from rampant poaching. Poor funding has meant that forest guards have gone unpaid, and several positions ...