The Government of India launched Project Tiger in 1973. Initially, it covered nine tiger reserves of 18,278 km2, now expanding to 53 reserves spread across 75,796 km2. Project Tiger aimed to protect the nation’s tiger population and preserve biodiversity. According to Bhupendra Yadav, Environment and Forest Minister, “All India tiger monitoring is a herculean exercise being conducted every four years by National Tiger Conservation Authority in collaboration with State Forest Departments and with technical backstopping of the Wildlife Institute of India using the best available science. India is the only country in the world to have completed five cycles of estimation and the fifth cycle also demonstrates a rise in tiger numbers.” Notably, Central India Highlands and Eastern Ghats Landscape; the Shivalik Hills, and Gangetic Plains saw significant increases in tiger populations, particularly in Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Maharashtra. In 2022, the Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Plains documented 819 tigers; Central India and Eastern Ghats have 1439 tigers; and Western Ghats recorded 1087 tigers. Bandipur Field Director and Conservator of Forest Dr. Ramesh Kumar P. said that Karnataka has retained the number two position in tiger numbers with 563 tigers after Madhya Pradesh which has the highest number of 785 tigers. After that Uttarakhand has 560, and Maharashtra has 444 tigers. Dr. Ramesh further said that within Karnataka Bandipur is holding the highest number of tigers (150 resident tigers) and 191 tigers utilizing Bandipur as its territory. Uttar Pradesh (205), Andhra Pradesh (63), Rajasthan (88), and Bihar (54) have also recorded notable increases in their tiger populations. All India Tiger Estimation (2022-23) covered forested habitats in 19 states of India. A foot survey of 6,41,449 km was done for carnivore signs and prey abundance estimation. In these forests, 3,24,003 habitat plots were sampled for vegetation, human impacts, and ungulate dung. Camera traps were deployed at 32,803 locations, resulting in 4,70,81,881 photographs of which 97,399 were of tigers. On Global Tiger Day, 29th July 2023, Minister of State for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Ashwini Kumar, released a comprehensive report revealing India’s tiger population estimate of 3,925, with an annual growth rate of 6.1%. The tiger population in the Western Ghats has remained relatively stable, but there have been declines noted in specific areas such as Wayanad and Northern Karnataka. The localized declines in tiger populations in the Western Ghats highlight the need for more targeted monitoring and conservation efforts within this region. On the other hand, the absence of tigers in Mizoram and Nagaland raised concerns as these places have reported zero tiger signs and sightings. Jharkhand has reported only a single individual tiger, emphasizing the urgent need for conservation measures to protect and enhance tiger populations in these regions. Goa, Chhattisgarh, and Arunachal Pradesh have relatively small tiger populations, necessitating focused conservation strategies to ensure long-term survival. One particular area of concern is the survival of the tiger population in Odisha, which is currently under serious threat from poaching activities. Immediate action is required to combat poaching and protect the remaining tigers in Odisha, as failure to do so may lead to the extinction of this population. Although small in size, the leopard is estimated at around 13,000 in India. The three States with the highest number of leopards are Madhya Pradesh with 3,421 leopards, followed by Karnataka with 1,783 and Maharashtra with 1,690. India needs a definitive leopard conservation policy. Mostly because of poaching and at the man-animal interface we are witnessing a smaller number of leopards. According to the NTCA’s statistics of 2018, in Central India and Eastern Ghats, the total leopard population was 8071 leopards. In the Western Ghats, the leopard population was 3,387 and in Shivalik Gangetic, the number of leopards was 1253. As per 2018 data, states where the highest number of leopards witnessed within the reserve are: Uttarakhand had 145 leopards, Madhya Pradesh 273, Rajasthan 231, and Andhra Pradesh 159, and an equal number of leopards was recorded in Karnataka and Maharashtra with 152 and 150 leopards respectively. Nestled into the picturesque hills of Aravalli and spread over 23 sq.km. of space, Jaipur’s Jhalana area has become famous for its leopards and abode of over 30 to 35 leopards. Jhalana Leopard Safari is a wildlife park dedicated to the conservation of animals in open spaces. It has leopards, jackals, nilgai, hyena, jungle cat, peacock, etc. Uttarakhand harbours a major portion of the leopard population in the landscape, and the numbers will be more given that the higher hills of the state were not sampled for leopards. Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh had the largest leopard population at about 273 leopards followed by Sariska with 231 leopards. Both these Tiger Reserves lost their tigers between 2004 and 2009 and in the absence of tigers or with a low density of tigers, leopards occupied the major forested habitats within the Tiger Reserve. Some of the low to medium tiger density tiger reserves (such as Nagarjunasagar Srisailam, Amrabad, Melghat, Satpura, Anshi Dandeli, Anamalai, Parambikulam, Kalakad Mundanthurai, Similipal) have more than hundred leopards within their administrative boundaries. Tiger Reserves such as Bandhavgarh, Bandipur, Nagarhole, and Mudumalai which have over a hundred tigers also harbour populations of more than a hundred leopards. Buxa in West Bengal and Palamau in Jharkhand which recorded no presence of tigers during the 2018 estimation, had sizeable populations of leopards.