Corbett, Rajaji nearing saturation, but half of tiger reserves operating below capacity

Time of India

28-07-2025

Dehradun: Nearly 50% of India's tiger reserves are operating below their carrying capacity, but in Uttarakhand, reserves like Corbett and Rajaji are nearing saturation, raising concerns of increased human-wildlife conflict as tigers begin moving into non-protected areas.
Wildlife experts said that unless habitat quality improves in low-density reserves across the country, the growing tiger population could soon become unmanageable. The warning comes ahead of International Tiger Day, observed on Tuesday.
"Nationwide reserves with historically low tiger densities due to habitat degradation or fragmentation must now be urgently restored to accommodate spillover from saturated zones.
Without serious habitat restoration, rising tiger numbers will become unmanageable," said Qamar Qureshi, former senior scientist at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and co-author of the All-India Tiger Estimation (AITE) 2022.
"Poaching and conflict are major concerns. Habitat rewilding takes 8–10 years to show results. We are already late."
In Uttarakhand, which now hosts an estimated 560 tigers — including around 260 in Corbett and approximately 54 in Rajaji — officials said the pressure is increasing.
"With Corbett and eastern Rajaji nearing full capacity, tigers are beginning to move into non-protected areas, increasing the likelihood of conflicts," a senior IFS officer said.
A preliminary WII report on the carrying capacity of tiger reserves in the state highlights this shift. Though yet to be finalised, the report suggests that Corbett can support 20 tigers per 100sqkm, eastern Rajaji 14, and western Rajaji just eight per 100sqkm, forest officials said.
"Corbett and eastern Rajaji are nearing saturation. They offer the best habitat and, as a result, the tiger population is increasing," said Ranjan Mishra, chief wildlife warden of Uttarakhand.
India's tiger population rose to 3,682 in the 2022 estimation, making up over 70% of the world's wild tiger count. However, experts warn that without parallel investment in habitat restoration and connectivity corridors, the growing numbers could become unsustainable.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority has identified habitat saturation and lack of buffer space as emerging risks in states with high tiger densities, including Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka.
The rising population is also shifting fatality trends. Tigers have caused more human deaths (9) than leopards (6) in the state so far this year, reversing the usual pattern. "The rising tiger population is both an asset and a responsibility for Uttarakhand," Mishra said.