Tigers Outside Tiger Reserves
Discover how India is working on protecting tigers beyond protected areas through technology, corridors, and community-led conservation initiatives
Dispersing Tigers – Beyond Protected Areas
Five decades ago when Project Tiger was launched in 1973, it initially covered 18,278 sq.km across newly declared 9 tiger reserves. Today India has 58 tiger reserves across 18 states, covering nearly 2.5% of its geographical area. The tiger population increased from 1411 in 2006 to 3682 in 2022. But, not every tiger resides in these tiger reserves.
According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) approximately one-third of India's tiger population is found outside tiger reserves. These big cats move through fragmented forests, agricultural lands, corridors, villages, passing through fragile landscapes. Even young tigers disperse in search of territories, mates, and prey often traveling long distances. And the cost of that dispersal is sobering.
Government data shows, just over half of the tiger deaths (667 in total) recorded between 2021 and mid 2025 occurred outside protected areas, where MP and Maharashtra accounted the largest share of these losses - The Economic Times And to address this rising issue TOTR has been built.
What is TOTR ??
Tigers Outside Tiger Reserves is the initiative taken by Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate change - MoEFCC and NTCA. Launched on 6th October 2025 at FRI, Dehradun with an outlay of ₹ 88.7 crore for 2025–28, this pilot program covers 40 forest divisions in 9 states including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Assam, West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh – focusing on buffer zones and adjoining tiger corridors.
Its prime objective is to strengthen surveillance, monitoring, rapid response mechanism, improve protection using technology (camera traps, GPS based patrolling, drones, early-warning systems), reduce human-tiger conflict, timely compensation, and community centric approach supporting coexistence in sensitive areas.
Bagh Mitra
Bagh Mitra aka Tiger Friend is a Community based conservation and engagement initiative launched under TOTR program is designed to educate local community, youth, and school children. Activities include training volunteers as frontline communicators, conducting nature walks, drawing competitions, quizzes, and jungle camps in govt. schools located near forest fringes.
The Bottom Line
With Project Tiger, India didn’t draw the boundary for tigers to survive – it actually succeeded in its endeavour to save it. And right now, it’s time to write the next chapter of this story beyond its initial boundary line. The Amrit Kaal Vision (2047) for tiger conservation, road infra solutions like the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Mahamarg, and Kanha-Pench corridor are few examples of landscape focused roadmap towards tiger conservation in India.