As India is home to nearly 70 per cent of world’s tiger population, the Union Environment Ministry is planning to relocate some of the big cats to Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar, where they have either become extinct or are on the verge of it. Experts from these countries recently took part in a two-day study programme to understand the successful tiger reintroduction in Panna Tiger Reserve, which faced total extinction of tigers in 2008. The team was led by Dr Thomas Gray, head of World Wide Fund for nature (WWF), Cambodia. According to sources in the Environment Ministry, India has asked them to furnish an official agreement from their respective Governments saying they are keen to have tigers and will take measures to protect them. “We also need to be assured that the reintroduction project has full support of their Governments,” said sources from the Environment Ministry. The officials and experts are also discussing the possibility of a survey to ascertain the exact number of tigers in those countries, and whether the existing forest area can accommodate tigers from India. According to experts, a tiger was last seen in 2007 in Cambodia. A camera trap image of the tiger was taken in the Eastern Plains Dry Forest Landscape in Mondulkiri Protected Forest. Cambodia has no existing population of breeding tigers. The experts will also ascertain whether the Indian tigers can survive in the existing conditions there. This also includes the availability of prey base for the big cats. Prey base, political will, and forest area are some of the issues that need to be considered before the final decision is made, said the sources. The experts further informed that Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has also received requests on tiger adoption from other South Asian countries where big cats are on the verge of extinction. While he has responded favourably to their demands, India is also working with other countries, including Bangladesh, Nepal and Russia for tiger conservation. The last tiger census in 2014 has pegged the population of big cats in India at 2,226. This is an increase from 1,706 in 2010 and 1,411 in 2006. About 65 tiger deaths have been reported in 2015 so far for various reasons.