Conservation efforts by India at 2:23 AM

India is home to the world's largest population of tigers in the wild.According to the world wildlife fund, of the 3,500 tigers around the world, 1,400 are found in India.A major concerted conservation effort, known as Project Tiger, has been underway since 1973, which was initially spearheaded by Indira Gandhi. The fundamental accomplishment has been the establishment of over 25 well-monitored tiger reserves in reclaimed land where human development is categorically forbidden. The program has been credited with tripling the number of wild Bengal tigers from roughly 1,200 in 1973 to over 3,500 in the 1990s. However, a tiger census carried out in 2007, whose report was published on February 12, 2008, stated that the wild tiger population in India declined by 60% to approximately 1,411.It is noted in the report that the decrease of tiger population can be attributed directly to poaching. Following the release of the report, the Indian government pledged $153 million to further fund the Project Tiger initiative, set-up a Tiger Protection Force to combat poachers, and fund the relocation of up to 200,000 villagers to minimise human-tiger interaction.Additionally, eight new tiger reserves in India are being set up.Indian officials successfully started a project to reintroduce the tigers into the Sariska Tiger Reserve.The Ranthambore National Park is often cited as a major success by Indian officials against poaching.