Survival of tigers is dependent on conservation and management efforts. To gauge the success of conservation efforts as well as to guide management inputs, it is important to assess the effectiveness of management of Tiger Reserves.

India has 13,874 leopards, with the heart of the country — Madhya Pradesh — having the largest number of its third-biggest felid, a landmark report released by the Centre on February 29, 2024 showed. The pan-India population of the Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) was estimated at 13,874 (Range: 12,616–15,132) individuals.

Adopted from the framework of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) World Commission on Protected Areas, Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) has emerged as the most important tool to assist and improve the management perspectives of Tiger Reserves and their associated landscape connectivity.

Prime Minister released the latest tiger numbers at a mega event organised in Mysuru to mark the completion of 50 years of ‘Project Tiger’. According to the data, the tiger population in the country increased from 2,967 in 2018 to 3,167 in 2022.

The Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala is the best-maintained of all tiger reserves in the country, according to the 5th cycle of Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) carried out by the Centre and released alongside the Tiger Census.

According to the latest tiger census data by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, India's tiger population has increased by 200 in the past four years to reach 3,167 in 2022. The tiger population has shown a steady increase from 1,411 in 2006 to 1,706 in 2010, 2,226 in 2014, 2,967 in 2018, and 3,167 in 2022.

The tiger reserves are not just for tigers, but they are far more vital as more than 35 rivers originate from these areas which are crucial for water security, Union Environment, Forests, and Climate Change Minister, said. The Union Minister also released a Water Atlas that has mapped all the water bodies in the tiger bearing areas of India.

The Environment Minister released the report ‘Status of Leopards, Co-predators and Megaherbivores-2018’ stating that the report is a testimony to the fact that conservation of tigers leads to the conservation of entire ecosystem.

India's leopard population increased from 8,000 to over 12,500 in four years since 2014, Environment Minister said, asserting the rise in their numbers following similar reports on tiger and lion shows the country is protecting its ecology and biodiversity well.

India now accounts 70 percent of the world's total population of tigers, the environment ministry said while releasing its fourth detailed national tiger estimation report.