The number of India’s tigers has shrunk alarmingly in recent
decades. A 2011 census counted only 1,700 tigers left in the wild, compared to
100,000 a century ago. Poaching and human-wildlife conflicts between tigers and
people living in and on the periphery of tiger reserves are the biggest threat.
A landmark ruling, this month, by India’s Supreme Court has
ordered a ban on tourism in "core zones" of more than 40 of the
country’s central government-run tiger reserves.
The ruling seeks to protect the core zones of the tiger
reserves, but tourists will still be able to visit buffer areas, up to a
distance of 10km from the core areas. However, court fines of 10,000 rupees
(£115) on states not complying with its earlier tiger protection directives
seem unlikely to be a major deterrent.
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