Tiger siblings in Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand, India

© Sourabh Bharti/Getty Image

Roar and explore. International Tiger Day

We're off to a roaring start today: it's International Tiger Day. Celebrated on July 29, this day was established in 2010 to protect tigers from threats such as poaching and habitat loss due to deforestation. At the end of the 19th century, there were thought to be around 100,000 tigers in the wild; these days, there are fewer than 6,000.

Today's image features a pair of tigers in Jim Corbett National Park in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park and covers approximately 520 square kilometres. It was later renamed Corbett National Park in honour of Jim Corbett, a conservationist who played a crucial role in its creation. The park was the first to be included in Project Tiger, India's initiative to protect endangered tigers. This park has 256 Bengal tigers, master predators that play an essential role in the park's ecosystem. Tigers are at the top of the food chain, often hunting large animals like water buffalo and even small elephants. Here visitors can book a jungle safari, accompanied by forest rangers.