NEW DELHI: ‘Project Tiger’ is a tiger conservation programme started in 1973 at Corbett National Parkby Indian government during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s tenure. The project is completing 50 years this year and it is termed as a success as the number of tigers have increased. Meanwhile, the tiger population has become extinct in Asian country Cambodia. According to the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, or WWF, tiger is not seen in Cambodia since 2007. With this, the organization declared that tigers have become extinct in the country.

Cambodia has been demanding tigers from India and Thailand for years. But Thailand has backed away from this, citing poaching and the use of tigers to promote tourism. Cambodia has signed a memorandum of understanding with India to translocate tigers in November.

National Tiger Conservation Authority member SP Yadav says that translocating tigers to Cambodia is under consideration and it has only happened within the country and not outside. The plan is to send tigers from Corbett National Park to Cambodia. The tigers will be translocated only after verifying whether the factors responsible for their extinction still exist and have been resolved. India launched Project Tiger in 1973, when the tiger population had declined sharply. There were 1411 tigers in 2006 and it has doubled and became 2967 in 2018. The tiger census will be held this year. It is reported that the number of tigers have increased in India compared to 2018.