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Take a look at the essential events, concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your knowledge nugget for today.
(Relevance: Various initiatives started by India on the global and domestic levels, especially concerning the environment, form an important part of the UPSC CSE exam. For instance, in the CSE Prelims of 2016, a question was asked on the International Solar Alliance. Thus, environment-related initiatives for various species conservation, species and national parks or wildlife sanctuaries that are in the news become important for the Prelims exam. In this context, knowing about the International Big Cat Alliance and Project Tiger becomes relevant for the upcoming UPSC CSE Prelims 2025.)
The International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) signed an agreement with the central government on Thursday (April 17) formalising India as the headquarters and secretariat of the alliance, over two months after it came into force as a full-fledged treaty-based intergovernmental organisation.
1. According to IBCA’s official site, “it is a multi-country, multi-agency coalition comprising of 95 big cat range countries, non-range countries with an interest in big cat conservation, conservation partners, scientific organizations engaged in big cat research, as well as business groups and corporates committed to supporting big cat conservation efforts.”
2. The IBCA was launched at the initiative of India to focus on global conservation of seven big cats —the tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, puma, jaguar and cheetah. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the IBCA in April 2023 during the 50th year celebrations of Project Tiger.
3. India formally joined the IBCA in September 2024. After five signatory countries—India, Liberia, Eswatini, Somalia, and Nicaragua—ratified the IBCA framework agreement, the alliance came into force as a global legal entity. In February 2024 the cabinet approved the establishment of the IBCA’s headquarters as well as the budgetary support of Rs 150 crore for it for the 2023-24 to 2027-28 period.
1. Tiger (Panthera Tigris): Panthera tigris, the continental tiger, and Panthera tigris sondaica, the Sunda tiger, are the two recognised subspecies of tigers. According to the fifth cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation 2022 summary report, India is home to about 3,167 tigers, accounting for more than 70 per cent of the world’s wild tigers.
📌Conservation Status: IUCN Red List-Endangered, Schedule 1 under Wildlife Protection Act (WPA, 1972)
📌Conservation Efforts: Project Tiger (1973) , Establishment of National Tiger Conservation Authority, Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CA|TS) Accreditation.
2. Lion (Panthera Leo): Most sociable when compared to other big cat species, Lions are found in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, a tiny population of Asiatic lions in India’s Gir National Park, and a severely endangered subpopulation in West Africa.
📌Conservation Status: IUCN Red List- Vulnerable, Schedule 1 under WPA, 1972
📌Conservation Efforts: Project Lion (announced on August 15, 2020), Use of advanced technologies in Lion conservation.
| World Lion Day |
| August 10 is World Lion Day — an annual event started by Big Cat Rescue, the largest accredited big cat sanctuary in the world. It was instituted to raise awareness of the rapidly diminishing lion population and the critical need for their conservation. |
3. Leopard (Panthera Pardus): The leopard, the smallest of the big cats, is well known for its ability to adapt to a variety of settings. This species is a nocturnal mammal, they can hunt at night. It eats smaller herbivorous animals found in its vicinity. There are nine species of leopards, which are found in both Asia and Africa. The “Status of Leopards in India, 2022” report states that there were 13784 leopards in India in 2022 compared to 12,852 in 2018. The maximum population of leopards is found in Madhya Pradesh (3907) followed by Maharashtra (1985), and Karnataka (1879).
📌Conservation Status: IUCN Red List- Vulnerable, Schedule 1 under WPA, 1972
📌Conservation Efforts: The leopard is not among the species for whom a “species-specific conservation program” has been defined because there is no evidence that the species is at risk of going extinct in the country. However, The World Wildlife Fund offers assistance to bolster anti-poaching endeavours within protected regions, thereby mitigating the poaching of leopards.
| Do you Know? |
| India is home to five of the seven big cats: the tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, and cheetah, except for the puma and jaguar. |
4. Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus): Cheetahs are well-known for their tawny coats speckled with black dots, which are placed in a distinctive pattern to aid in animal identification. India was home to Asiatic cheetahs. According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority, In 1952, the cheetah bid farewell to India, succumbing to a culmination of threats. Now, the Asiatic cheetah is believed to survive only in Iran. The intercontinental translocation of African cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa to the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh was launched under Project Cheetah (2022).
📌Conservation Status: IUCN Red List- Asiatic cheetah “critically endangered”, African Cheetah is listed as a vulnerable (VU), WPA, 1972: Asiatic cheetah-Schedule 1, African Cheetah-Schedule 1.
📌Conservation Efforts: Project Cheetah (2022)
5. Snow Leopard: Also known as “Ghost of the Mountains”, Snow Leopards, can climb steep hills easily while their rear legs help them to leap over six times of their own length of the body. The mountainous regions of twelve Asian countries—Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Russia and Uzbekistan—make up the habitat range of the snow leopard. A survey taken by the Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) has estimated a population of 718 Snow Leopards in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Most of the habitat of the Snow Leopard is not accessible by roads.
📌Conservation Status: IUCN Red List- Vulnerable, Schedule 1 under WPA, 1972
| Do you Know? |
| India is home to five of the seven big cats: the tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, and cheetah, except for the puma and jaguar. |
6. Puma (Puma concolor): Sometimes referred to as a mountain lion, cougar, or panther, Puma is the biggest of the “small cats.” Closely related to the domestic cat, this genus has only one extant species, the cougar. They are not native to India.
📌Conservation Status: IUCN Red List- Least Concern
7. Jaguars (Panthera Onca): Jaguars are distinguished swimmers, they are not native to India and are mainly found in South America. Melanistic (black) Jaguars are common and are often called black panthers. Jaguar was a powerful motif in the Mayan and Aztec civilisations.
📌Conservation Status: IUCN Red List- Near Threatened
| Big Cats | IUCN Status | Habitat |
| Tiger | Endangered | Evergreen forests, rainforests, temperate forests, deciduous forests, grasslands, and mangrove swamps |
| Cheetah | Asian – Critically endangered Story continues below this ad African – Vulnerable |
Shrublands, grasslands, savannas and temperate to hot deserts |
| Leopard | Vulnerable | Forests, subtropical and tropical regions, Savannas, deserts and rocky and mountainous regions |
| Lion | Vulnerable | Grasslands, savannas, dense scrub, and open woodlands. Generally avoid thick canopied forests. |
| Snow Leopard | Vulnerable | Northern and central Asia mountains. |
| Jaguar |
Near Threatened | Forests, Grasslands |
| Puma |
Least Concern | Mountains of North and South America, inhabiting rocky crags and pastures, forests, tropical jungles, grasslands, and even arid desert regions. |
(Sources: IUCN, Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 ntca.gov.in, worldwildlife.org, ibca.world)
As IBCA was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2023 in Mysuru, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Project Tiger. After knowing about the IBCA and big cats, let’s take a look at Project Tiger.
1. The ‘Project Tiger’ is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) launched by the Central government on April 1, 1973, in a bid to promote conservation of the tiger. The programme came at a time when India’s tiger population was rapidly dwindling.
2. To tackle the problem of hunting and poaching of not just tigers but also other animals and birds, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi promulgated the Wildlife Protection Act in 1972. A year later, after a task force urged the government to create a chain of reserves dedicated to tiger preservation, government unveiled Project Tiger.
3. Launched at the Jim Corbett National Park, the programme was initially started in nine tiger reserves of different States such as Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, covering over 14,000 sq km.
| Do you Know? |
| A tiger reserve in India is a designated area established under the Project Tiger to ensure the conservation of tigers and their habitats. These reserves are part of the government’s efforts to protect the tiger population, maintain biodiversity, and restore ecological balance |
4. Notably, Project Tiger didn’t just focus on the conservation of the big cats. It also ensured the preservation of their natural habitat as tigers are at the top of the food chain.
Consider the following statements regarding the International Big Cat Alliance:
1. The alliance only includes “range countries” interested in big cat conservation.
2. Among the seven big cats, six are found in India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
| Answer Key |
| (d) |
(Sources: Knowledge nugget of the day: India’s 58th tiger reserve, Wildlife Week 2024 Special: International Big Cat Alliance and India,
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