'International Tiger Day' celebrated at American Center

The "International Tiger Day" was celebrated on Monday at the American Center here through an interactive session titled "Sundarban Tigers: The Road Ahead".

To mark the occasion, Patti Hoffman, the US Consul General in Kolkata and Dr Kailash Chandra, Director of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) launched Awareness Stickers.

On the occasion, Former Director of the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve Dr Pradeep Vyas spoke about the present status and future of the mangrove tigers of the Sundarbans.

Joint Director, Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve, West Bengal, Dr S Kulandivel spoke on new challenges in conservation and management of Royal Bengal Tigers, while Dr Sujeet Kumar Singh, Tiger Researcher, Zoological Survey of India, threw light on the conservation genetics of Sundarban Tigers.

International Tiger Day is celebrated annually on July 29 to raise awareness for tiger conservation.

The objective is to promote a global system for protecting the natural habitats of tigers and to raise public awareness and support for tiger conservation issues.

As per current census figures released on Monday, India is home to 2967 tigers. The world is home to approximately 4,000 tigers out of which around 70 per cent resides in India.