r/TigersofIndia

Photos By Nihaal Reddy on Instagram.

Credit: Chinmaya Ashar

Credits: saurabh_wildlife

In the early 1900s, India's forests are absolutely full of tigers. Something like 40,000 of them roaming free. Then over the next several decades, that number has been fallen down.

Maharajas turned tiger hunting into a flex. And the Britishers started calling tigers "vermin" and paying people bounty money to shoot them. Between 1875 and 1925 alone, an estimated 80,000 tigers were killed.

By 1972, someone finally did a proper count. And The number finally came out was 1,827.

Only 1,827 tigers left in entire country. The animal that once seemed impossible to lose was suddenly got close to extinct

Something had to change

In that same year, on 21 August 1972, the government passed the Wildlife Protection Act hunting a tiger stopped being a sport and became a crime. A year later Indira Gandhi launched Project Tiger, and It started small, just 9 reserves, places like Corbett, Manas, Palamau, Similipal. Ranthambore, Kanha, Melghat, Bandipur and Sundarban. India started with these 9 tiger reserves across 14,000sq km.

And Today there are over 50 tiger reserves spanning 75,000+ sq km. The population that once bottomed out at 1,827 has climbed back to 3,600+ as of the last count. India now holds roughly 75% of all wild tigers left on the planet.

It's easy to forget how close we came to losing them completely.

One law. One decision. One species pulled back from the edge.

So the next time you see a tiger in the wild, don’t just admire it, remember that this story could have ended differently.

Thankfully, it didn't.

above: m91 aka. Old king, caught and collared by Chundawat and his team in 1996. he bottomed a 250kg scale and was estimated 240kg minimum in Chundawat's paper published in 2008

bottom: m125 aka. Madla, collared in 2002. he also bottomed the 250kg scale used by Chundawat and had 90cm+ neck and 7.5cm canines. his head alone was estimated to weigh almost 15kg by dr. Chundawat and his paws were the size dinner plates 🍽

later he was estimated to weigh minimum 230kg by Chundawat in his 2008 scientific publication

overall these two are some of the heaviest tigers measured by scientists in scientific studies

Credit: Wildlife By Irfan (YouTube)

Officially presenting Pedhvaali, daughter of Paarwaali, in Jim Corbett National Park!

Seeing a Tigress in the wild be completely herself is something you never get over. And I definitely keep going back to these set of photos.

Sharing a few frames from the encounter — hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed witnessing it.

Credit: Krishna Maywad

The crisp winter morning in legendary Chhota Matka’s teak forests kingdom began with the fresh pugmarks of a leopard. Half an hour later, our hearts skipped a beat: massive, fresh tiger pug marks sliced across our path. Rumours whispered that the prince ,Kalua, was courting a queen Chanda nearby. Adrenaline spiked; we locked in and followed the trail.

The air grew heavy with warnings. Forest laborers shouted that Kalua—infamous for chasing down two-wheelers—was close. Further up, shaken workers showed us a water can fresh shredded by claws. I had watched Kalua grow from a vulnerable cub into a massive, handsome prince, and the anticipation of our reunion boiled over.

Suddenly, the brush parted. Two magnificent tigers stepped onto the safari track just meters ahead, striding side-by-side toward our lone gypsy.

The forest had deceived us. These were not the tracks of lovers, but of brothers. Walking confidently beside Kalua was his younger sibling, Balya—born to Babli and sired by the legendary CM. Kalua towered over his brother with regal composure. As more jeeps arrived, the shy Balya slipped quietly back into the emerald shadows, but Kalua claimed the stage, walking the track for nearly an hour or more in a masterclass of royal indifference.

Months later, the brotherhood fractured as both left their father's domain to carve out their own destinies. Balya vanished into the silent, untracked wilderness, his whereabouts a mystery. Yet our prince Kalua conquered the territorial forests of the Bramhapuri range. Today, he rules a growing kingdom, having already sired four cubs with the queen Janhavi, alongside the heirs of a few other secret queens of the forest.

Credit: Harshita and Deepankar Khulbe

3-4 years to this picture, and i still remember that day so clearly.
This is in Jim corbett national park in India, and it was just one of the trips that remains with you forever.
Let me know how this is and I'll share the backstory behind it with more picturesss!

Credit: Supriya Harindrawar

PHOTO CREDIT TO ALL ORIGINAL OWNERS. I AM NOT THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THESE IMAGES AND NOR DO I CLAIM TO BE. IF YOU ARE ONE OF THE ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHERS AND WANT YOUR IMAGE REMOVED, PLEASE MESSAGE ME

1. T15 Guda female she was one of Machli's 2 sisters. The 2 cubs here are T21 (front) and T12 (back). T21 went missing in 2012, few years later a poacher confessed to have killed him. T12 became a dominant male of Guda area and was the father of Noor (mated with his maternal cousin and paternal half brother btw). He was shifted to Sariska as ST4 where he later was killed by ST6 (his paternal half brother btw). Guda female was poisoned in 2008 while she had a second litter of 2 (1 male and 1 female). They were raised by humans and the male and female were tagged T36 and T37 respectively. T36 was later killed by Fateh and T37 Meera died on unknown causes

2. Jhumroo the great, he was the son of Nick and Machli. He had many children in ranthambore and contributed to its population

3. Subadults from Chiroli area in Ranthambore, 2003. I haven't seen any images of the mother

4. T3 Ookhan of Tadoba he was the brother of choti Tara and the son of Yeda Anna and Tara. He later migrated to Brahmapuri where he allegedly had many children. Balram is believed to be his son

5 and 6. Gangaram male of Kolsa, he was the successor of Shivaji and mated with his daughter Kuwani. He was the father of Mowgli and Paras

7. ~2 year old Matkasur in 2014. Some believe he was the son of Jamunjhora/Matkasur female (not sure if they're the same individual) and Namdev (Saturn)

8. Mukhtar Singh of Pench on camera trap

9. Badi mada with her 4 cubs. From left to right: Collarwali, Tarzan, "The 4th unknown sibling", Baghin Nala female

10. Limping male of Mukki zone Kanha, he is believed to be the father of Munna. He was the successor of Gaur Singh and had at least 6 children, namely: Munna, Chain male, Red eye, Old Pattewala, Mahaveer female and Indri-II

Credits to Prashant_Singh_Photography on Instagram.

Credit - BBCEarth