Tiger is the keeper of the biosphere and its presence indicates the health of the eco-system, Additional Chief Conservator of Forests Pratheep Kumar said.
At the top of the food chain the tiger ensures that the eco-system is balanced and healthy. The falling number of tigers indicates imbalance and poor quality of the biosphere, he told schoolchildren assembled at the Kambalakonda Reserve Forest for the sapling plantation campaign – Vanam Manam – here on Friday recalling that it was the International Tiger Day.
The population of tigers in India has fallen over 98 per cent from the turn of 20{+t}{+h}century to today. There are hardly 3200 tigers in the country and the only tiger reserve forest in the State was the Nallamalla forest in Srisailam-Nagarjuna Sagar Tiger Reserve, he said.
The Indira Gandhi Zoological Park had organised an awareness programme on the importance of tiger to mark the occasion. A large number of schoolchildren, from pre-school to seniors, participated in the programme and watched the tigers in the zoo in their enclosures and a film on tiger conservation.
The Paryavarana Margadarsi Vaisakhi and Visakha Zoo Lovers helped the Zoo Park organise the programme. Zoo Curator B Vijay Kumar led the team of persons explaining the importance of tigers to the students.
Ineo International pre school celebrated International Tiger Day by taking all the children to field trip to Indira Gandhi Zoological park, according to school chairman Satish Makena in a statement issued here.
Film on tiger
The children also were shown a film the large carnivore.
An awareness programme on the importance of tiger organised to mark the occasion at zoological park
