Population of major animal species up in the country: Jayanthi

The population of major animal species like lions, tigers, elephant and rhinos has increased in the country, the Rajya Sabha was told today.
"The estimated population of lions has increased from 359+10 in 2005 to 411 in 2010. The population of tiger has increased from 1411 in 2006 to 1706 in 2010," Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan told the Rajya Sabha today.
She said the population of elephants has gone up from 27657-27682 to 29391-30711 in 2012 while the population of rhinos has increased from 1817 in 1998-99 to 2414 in 2009.
The Minister said a total of 670 protected areas, viz national parks, sanctuaries, conservation and community reserves have been created under the provision of Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972 to provide protection in wild fauna and flora covering important wildlife habitats.

She said these areas generally have high importance from bio-diversity point of view and are some of the best habitats of wildlife. They are spread over 1,61,228 sq km and cover about 20.6 per cent of total forest area and about 4.9 per cent of total area of the country.
"In order to provide specific focus on the conservation of tiger and elephant, Project Tiger and Project Elephant are functional in the respective range states. Under the strategy, 44 tiger reserves and 28 elephant reserves have been set up," Natarajan said.
The Minister added financial assistance is also provided for construction of barriers like boundary walls and solar- powered electric fences around sensitive areas.