Associated Press

New Delhi, April 9:

The Supreme Court has ordered the government to monitor wildlife parks in India after media reported tigers are disappearing from forests and reserves. India boasts the world’s largest population of Bengal tigers and wildlife activists say poaching and loss of habitat have led to the disappearance of tigers from national parks. India’s top court asked the federal and state governments to report on the status of wildlife reserves by early May.

Poaching by organized wildlife crime networks and the clearing of forests for human settlements has caused India’s tiger population to drop sharply. The National Geographic Society estimated in 2001 that only 5,000 to 7,000 tigers existed in the wild, about half of them in India. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed concern over the dwindling tiger count and said the government would step up efforts to protect the tiger and other endangered species. India has laws to protect wildlife and imposes stringent punishment on violators. But the high premium attached to tiger skins, and the use of tiger bones and claws in traditional Chinese medicine for their presumed health benefits have resulted in a thriving trade.