On August 19, 2025, India’s efforts to protect its iconic big cats took a decisive leap forward, as the central government approved a landmark expansion of the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve in West Bengal. With the inclusion of about 1,044 square kilometres from the Raidighi, Matla, and Ramganga ranges in the South 24 Parganas forest division, the Sundarbans now stands as the country’s second largest tiger reserve—surpassed only by Andhra Pradesh’s sprawling Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, which covers more than 3,700 square kilometres. This move, reported by The Times of India, is set to reshape conservation efforts in one of the world’s most unique and vulnerable ecosystems.
For years, the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve was the sixth largest in India, encompassing about 2,585 square kilometres. The new addition brings its total area to over 3,600 square kilometres, a scale that conservationists believe will transform the management and protection of both the tigers and their precious mangrove habitat. According to H S Singh, a member of the National Board for Wildlife under the Ministry of Environment and Forest, the board cleared the proposal on Tuesday, August 19, paving the way for the state to issue a formal notification. After this, both Bengal and National Tiger Conservation Authority officials will determine how much of the new area will be designated as core and buffer zones.
The journey to this point has been anything but swift. As a senior official from the Bengal forest department explained to The Times of India, “The proposal was first taken up almost a decade ago in 2012-13. But it gained momentum a couple of years ago during which revised plans were submitted to the Centre.” The final proposal, sources say, was only sent to the central government about a month ago, reflecting years of bureaucratic hurdles and shifting priorities.
Pradeep Vyas, former chief wildlife warden of Bengal, recalled the origins of the effort: “We had first approached the Centre in 2012-13 to integrate forests under South 24 Parganas division, also known as buffer zone, with the tiger reserve. All zones under a common structure will lead to a better and efficient management. It will also give a sense of belonging to all forest staff working in the delta.” The hope is that a unified management structure will streamline conservation protocols, reduce administrative overlaps, and ultimately offer greater security to the region’s wildlife.
The Sundarbans is a place of superlatives and stark contrasts—a Unesco World Heritage Site, the world’s largest mangrove forest, and home to the only population of tigers adapted to living in a saline, tidal environment. The latest all-India tiger estimation exercise, cited by The Times of India, puts the number of tigers in the Indian Sundarbans at 101, with 80 of those within the tiger reserve and the rest in the South 24 Parganas division. Joydip Kundu, a member of the state wildlife advisory board, emphasized the significance of the expansion: “Bringing the areas under the tiger reserve’s protection protocols will strengthen conservation efforts. Also, the move will give a boost to central funding for the tiger reserve.”
While the Sundarbans expansion marks a triumph for conservationists, elsewhere in India, the challenges facing big cats are far more personal—and heartbreaking. In Uttarakhand’s Terai East Forest Division, a tigress has become a symbol of maternal resilience and the daily dangers faced by these magnificent animals. For the past four years, this tigress in the Surai range has been living with an iron wire cruelly wrapped around her upper abdomen, a remnant of a poacher’s trap. Despite her predicament, she has managed to raise three cubs—now about one and a half years old—while continuing to hunt and survive in the wild.
Images of the tigress, with the wire painfully visible, have circulated widely and drawn comparisons to the legendary sacrifices depicted in Bollywood’s classic film ‘Mother India.’ The ordeal began in 2021, and as DFO (Terai Eastern Forest Division) Himanshu Bagri told ETV Bharat, “We had to halt tranquilisation and rescue attempt earlier because the cubs needed her (tigress). She is under round-the-clock monitoring through camera trap.” Bagri added that the wire’s effect became more pronounced after the tigress gained weight post-pregnancy: “Since 2021, a portion of the iron wire laid by poachers is distinctly visible in the upper abdomen and the flesh around her stomach has thinned and reduced in size. The effect was less noticeable when she weighed less, but the tight iron wire has gripped more as her weight increased after giving birth.”
Despite the obvious discomfort, the tigress has shown remarkable tenacity. “The tigress is healthy, capable of hunting in the forest, and is raising her children,” Bagri said. The forest department’s plan is to wait until the cubs naturally separate from their mother—a process expected to occur in the coming days—before seeking permission to tranquilise the tigress and finally remove the iron noose. The story has captured the public’s imagination, highlighting both the resilience of India’s wildlife and the ever-present threat of poaching that shadows their existence.
While the Sundarbans and Uttarakhand stories unfolded, the country’s attention was briefly drawn to another big cat drama in the south. In Andhra Pradesh, after weeks of tension around Tirupati universities, a leopard was finally trapped on August 19, 2025. As reported in the live news updates, details about the circumstances and the animal’s fate remain sparse, but the incident underscores the ongoing challenges of human-wildlife conflict in rapidly urbanizing parts of India.
India’s commitment to its tigers is both a source of national pride and a test of its conservation resolve. The expansion of the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve is a testament to what can be achieved with persistence, scientific planning, and political will. Yet, as the plight of the Uttarakhand tigress and the Tirupati leopard reveal, the country’s big cats remain vulnerable to the twin threats of poaching and habitat encroachment. The hope among conservationists is that the new protections and resources flowing into the Sundarbans will not only help tigers thrive in the delta but also serve as a model for other reserves grappling with similar challenges.
For now, the Sundarbans’ new status as India’s second largest tiger reserve is a cause for celebration—but also a reminder of the ongoing, complex struggle to protect the nation’s wildest inhabitants, one forest and one animal at a time.
