Call of the wild

National Park tourism must evolve beyond the tiger

The 33 per cent bump in the tiger  population according to the latest census reflects a triumph of India’s conservation efforts and its ability to conduct a complex exercise, possibly the world’s largest, in counting carnivores. These are remarkable achievements: India not only has the world’s largest tiger population but has managed this with the world’s second-largest population. Taken together with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled appearance on Discovery TV with Bear Grylls, this is an opportune time to propagate awareness and appreciation of India’s ecological bounty among the wider Indian populace. Mr Modi's appearance on Mr Grylls’ show may