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In Images: Tigers Thrive in India National Park

Comparing stripes

tiger

(Image credit: TCRI/Aaranyak)

Researchers with Aaranyak, a conservation group in India, identify tigers by comparing their stripes. There are approximately 100 tigers in Kaziranga National Park, where these two tigers roam.

"Kung-fu elephant"

tiger conservation, kaziranga national park

(Image credit: TCRI/Aaranyak)

Photos show an elephant destroying one of Aaranyak's remote cameras, which cost $1,000 and are imported from the United States. The cameras are typically mounted as pairs to snap each side of a passing tiger. Elephants don't like the flash, and do their best to destroy the camera traps, said conservation biologist Firoz Ahmed, who dubbed the animal "kung-fu elephant" for its front and back kicks.

Illegal logging

tiger conservation, kaziranga national park

(Image credit: TCRI/Aaranyak)

Illegal logging inside a tiger preserve in India. The endangered animals face increasing population pressure from people who wish to clear forest land for logging and farming, said biologist Firoz Ahmed of the conservation group Aaranyak.

Water buffalo

tiger conservation, kaziranga national park

(Image credit: TCRI/Aaranyak)

A water buffalo stops for a drink in front of a camera trap in Kaziranga National Park in northeastern India's Assam state.

One-horned Rhino

tiger conservation, kaziranga national park

(Image credit: TCRI/Aaranyak)

Kaziranga National Park, in northeastern India, is a conservation success story for the Asian one-horned rhinoceros. More than 2,000 rhinos live in the park, of the approximately 3,000 worldwide. Only a few dozen were left in the wild in the early 20th century.

Burning bright

tiger conservation, kaziranga national park

(Image credit: TCRI/Aaranyak)

A tiger looks at a flashing camera trap in Kaziranga National Park in India.

Restful bath

tiger conservation, kaziranga national park

(Image credit: TCRI/Aaranyak/Firoz Ahmed)

A tiger rests in water in this well-known photo by conservation biologist Firoz Ahmed. Ahmed works for the non-profit wildlife conservation group Aaranyak, which tracks and monitors tigers throughout India.

Becky Oskin
Contributing Writer
Becky Oskin covers Earth science, climate change and space, as well as general science topics. Becky was a science reporter at Live Science and The Pasadena Star-News; she has freelanced for New Scientist and the American Institute of Physics. She earned a master's degree in geology from Caltech, a bachelor's degree from Washington State University, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz.