International Tiger Day: Karnataka park honours Hima Das by naming a tiger cub after her

The Bannerghatta Biological Park in Karnataka near Bengaluru has named a baby Royal Bengal tiger as Hima after Indian athlete Hima Das, said reports. Das had caught headlines recently for winning five golds within a month. The cub was named in the honour of the Indian sprinter, reports added.

The executive director of the state-run zoo Vanashree Vipin Singh said that the cub was fourth in the second litter born to a female tiger. The zoo authorities also hope to spread awareness about tiger conservation by this initiative.

The 2018 Asian Games gold medallist had won her fifth gold in July in 400m race in Czech Republic. She had also won the U-20 World Championships in 2018. 

PM Modi announces Tiger census

Earlier on Monday, on the occasion of International Tiger Day, PM Narendra Modi released the results of the 4th cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation Report 2018. As per the figures of the tiger estimation, India achieved its target of doubling the population of the national animal of the country four years ahead of its deadline. Addressing the gathering at the event in Delhi, PM Modi said that with close to 3000 tigers, India is proudly one of the largest and safest tiger habitats in the world.

"Today, we can proudly say that with nearly 3000 tigers, India is one of the biggest and safest habitats in the world," he said.

As per the census, the highest number of tigers are found in Madhya Pradesh at 526, followed by Karnataka with 524 tigers and Uttarakhand with 442 tigers at number three. As per the report, the tiger population in the country has grown from 1,400 in 2014 to 2,977 in 2019.

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More details about the census below:

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