India scrambles to set up new tiger reserves as population booms

India’s wild tiger population has doubled in just over a decade, cementing its status as the global stronghold for the species. But with this success comes an urgent challenge – given their famously large ranges, where will all these big cats live?

At least one aspect of India’s answer comes in the form of new tiger reserves, with the government rapidly expanding its network of protected areas. Three new national parks have been established in just the last five months, taking the country’s total to 58. They house 3,682 tigers, according to the most recent census in 2022, up from 1,706 in 2010.

In theory that means an average of 63 tigers per park. But the problem for India’s forest officials is that their distribution is not even – the newest reserve, named earlier this month as Madhav National Park in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, was home to no tigers at all up until 2023.

That changed with human intervention – the relocation of three tigers, which led to the birth of two cubs in the forest, reported India Today. In March, another tiger was introduced, strengthening the area’s credentials as a potentially vital wildlife corridor linking the more famous and established reserves of Ranthambore, Kuno, and Panna.

While India’s conservation efforts have generally been praised, experts warn that protecting tigers is not just about increasing numbers. More than 60 million people live in areas overlapping tiger habitats, leading to growing concerns about human-wildlife conflict.

At the same time, some reserves – especially in the eastern regions of Odisha, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh – struggle with critically low tiger populations. Conservationists believe these regions could double their tiger numbers with better protection, cooperation with local residents and stricter anti-poaching measures.

As India’s tigers multiply, officials will face growing challenges – not just to count them, but to ensure they have enough space to survive, explains Milind Pariwakam, wildlife biologist and joint director at the Wildlife Trust of India. “What matters is the location of the tiger reserve, the unique habitat type it protects,” he tells The Independent.

Dr Medha Nayak, a conservation sociologist at the National Institute of Technology in Odisha, explains the importance of Madhav National Park’s addition to the list of tiger reserves in the country. “Madhav Tiger Reserve forms part of the Kuno landscape,” she says. “It will facilitate wildlife movement from Kuno, Madhav and Panna. Moreover, it shall also provide connectivity to the tigers of Ranthambore in Rajasthan which is not very far, geographically,” she says, referring to the popular tiger reserve in the adjoining north-western state.

“Madhav Tiger Reserve is not only about securing a good habitat but also ensuring a corridor for secured wildlife movement,” she says.

India’s tiger conservation efforts have come a long way since 1973 when Project Tiger was launched to counteract the alarming decline in tiger numbers due to rampant hunting and deforestation.

The initiative initially covered just nine reserves, but over the years the number has expanded to include diverse landscapes from the Shivalik Hills in the Himalayas to the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans.

While tigers can be found in areas outside these legally protected zones, they only thrive in large numbers near or within them, according to conservationists in the most recent 2022 Status of Tigers report for the National Tiger Conservation Authority of India.

These high-density tiger populations play a crucial role in maintaining the species by producing young tigers that then spread across the landscape, wrote the authors of the paper Qamar Qureshi, Yadvendradev V Jhala, Satya P Yadav and Amit Mallick. This movement helps connect different tiger populations, which is vital for their survival by ensuring genetic diversity and stable numbers.

Madhya Pradesh leads India’s states in terms of tiger population, boasting 785 of the big cats within its nine reserves, according to the latest government figures. Other states with significant tiger populations including the southern state of Karnataka on 563 and Maharashtra with 444. The Himalayan state of Uttarakhand has 560 tigers, with Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve – named after an Anglo-Indian hunter and author born in India in 1875 – holding the largest single population with 260.

But not all states or reserves have seen such success, and 16 national parks are rated as being on the verge of local extinction, according to The Indian Express.

“While overall numbers have gone up, tiger abundance and occupancy remains a concern in large parts of our forest network,” says Mr Pariwakam.

“Areas such as North and Western Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha have very low densities of tigers. These forests can easily help double the tiger numbers in the Central Indian and Eastern Ghats Landscape with no negative implications such as human-wildlife conflict,” he says.

“Even if these three states can harbour one tiger per 100 sqkm, which is a very low density, they can pack 1400 tigers in the forests available.”

But the states need to focus on strengthening surveillance, as he highlights “illegal hunting, forest fires, overall lack of protection and patrolling” as the major challenges in these areas.

India’s economic prosperity and social conditions play a crucial role in determining where tigers can thrive, research has revealed. While some states support high densities of tigers coexisting with human populations, others have seen their big cat populations dwindle due to poverty, poaching, and habitat loss.

The study, Tiger Recovery Amid People and Poverty, published in the journal Science in January 2025, found that states such as Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, and Karnataka host significant tiger populations alongside human settlements. However, in regions like Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and northeast India – areas that include some of the nation’s poorest districts, where bushmeat hunting and poaching have historically been prevalent – tigers are either absent or extinct.

The authors suggest that economic prosperity, particularly in regions benefiting from tiger-related tourism and government compensation schemes for human-wildlife conflict, has contributed to better tiger conservation outcomes. However, they warn that development can also lead to land-use changes that harm tiger habitats.

“Tiger recovery is thus constrained at opposite ends of the socioeconomic spectrum, by intensive urbanisation and poverty,” the study states. “Hence, adopting an inclusive and sustainable rural prosperity in place of an intensive land-use change–driven economy can be conducive for tiger recovery, aligning with India’s modern environmentalism and sustainability.”

Lady Gaga tickets flogged for £30,000 minutes after presale opens

Scalpers allegedly started reselling tickets for Lady Gaga’s upcoming concerts in Singapore at steep markups barely minutes after the presale opened on Tuesday, leaving fans frustrated.

The pop star performs at Singapore’s National Stadium on 18, 19, 21, and 24 May as part of her Mayhem world tour. It is her only stop in Asia.

Presale for Mastercard holders opened today. General sales begin on 21 March.

According to official ticketing platform Ticketmaster, prices range from £114 to £283. VIP packages are priced between £499 and £1038.

Fans shared their challenges with long ticket queues, with one claiming to be behind three million people, while local media reported the queue surpassed a million within 10 minutes of the presale opening.

But the real challenge fans were to face took place elsewhere as resellers turned to sites such as Carousell, Viagogo and StubHub to list their tickets at exorbitant prices, sparking outrage from eager concertgoers.

The Independent found multiple tickets available on online marketplace Carousell, starting at £144 and going to £1,503.

The Straits Times found VIP tickets selling for between £23,100 and £29,943 before they were removed from the website.

Tickets were also available on the resale site Viagogo, selling for between £114 and £1,873. On Stubhub, the prices ranged from £122 to £2,118.

Singaporean media reported noticing tickets go for over £9,000 on Viagogo and Stubhub.

Fans who managed to secure tickets were able to do so only after waiting hours in queue.

“I joined the waiting room at 8am and got my tickets only at 11.10am. It was stressful, the page was loading so slowly, and I had to refresh just to get in,” Zulkynaen Muhammad, 29, who paid around £222 each for two tickets, told The Straits Times.

“It was extreme madness. I was in the queue since 9.30am and got kicked out a few times. Thankfully I got my hands on them and I know my 14-year-old self is happy,” said Lisa M, who paid around £207 for each ticket.

Another fan who was only able to get one VIP ticket for about £515 said it was “pricey” but worth it. “Money can always come back. I have been her fan since ‘Poker Face’ came out in 2008,” Khairul A said.

“The last time she came, in 2012, I was too young to go and, now, I have adult money. I am still in shock that I managed to secure tickets.”

Lady Gaga was last in the country 13 years ago during her Born This Way Ball tour with a three-night stint at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Before that, she took the stage at Fort Canning Park in 2009 and delivered two exclusive showcase performances for local telco Singtel — one at Clarke Quay that same year and another at Marina Bay Sands in 2011.

The musician released her sixth studio album, Mayhem, on 7 March to generally favourable reviews. The Independent’s Helen Brown described the album as a “return of your Mama Monster to all her shock-horror-bop glory” in her five-star review.

Snake with 3 fangs ‘might be most dangerous death adder’ ever found

A venomous snake with three sharp fangs has been found in an unprecedented discovery in Australia.

The death adder with a rare mutation was spotted during a venom milking programme at the Australian Reptile Park.

“The Australian Reptile Park has no record of a three-fanged snake in the collection for at least 20 years. In that time, we have housed thousands of snakes and done hundreds of thousands of milkings,” the park told The Independent in a statement.

The death adder is one of the most dangerous reptiles, with likely the fastest strike of any snake in the world.

The snake typically has only two fangs.

It is found across Australia’s Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia, preying on frogs, lizards and birds.

Unlike most other Australian venomous snakes that actively search for prey, the death adder sits inconspicuously concealed in leaves, sand or gravel and ambushes prey that come to it.

Before antivenom programmes began, the adders were so deadly that 60 per cent of their bites to humans were fatal.

Their large fangs, 6-8mm in length, stand out as they are more mobile than those of other venomous snakes.

One death adder that has been part of the Australian Reptile Park’s venom extraction programme for about seven years has now been found to have an extremely rare third fang.

It was found next to one of the other fangs on the left side of the snake’s mouth, park manager Billy Collett told Live Science.

The park shared a video of the ultra-rare reptile being milked for its venom, revealing the third fang.

“I was milking it one day and noticed it had two fangs on one side,” Mr Collett said.

Venomous snakes are known to constantly replace their fangs, and it was initially expected that the death adder too might drop its third fang at some point.

“Then I noticed that when milking, venom comes out of both those fangs. It is bizarre,” Mr Collett said.

“This is very rare. I have never seen a functioning third fang like that,” he added. “It actually makes me really nervous milking this girl.”

The third fang appears to enable the rare snake to produce “massive yields” of venom per bite than usual, making it even more deadly, the manager said.

“Unfortunately, we don’t actually know what has caused the third fang to develop and don’t currently have the facilities to run any tests,” a spokesperson for the park told Live Science.

The snake’s high venom yield is “actually helping us save lives”, Mr Collett added, even though it “might actually be the most dangerous death adder in the world”.

Visitors can spot the rare snake at the Australian Reptile Park at Somersby on the Central Coast of New South Wales. The park is home to 250 venomous snakes that are milked on a fortnightly basis as part of its venom programme.

Tesla rival BYD’s electric cars can now charge as fast as a petrol car

Chinese automaker BYD has become the first in the world to unveil a commercial battery for electric vehicles that is capable of charging in roughly the same amount of time as it takes to fill up a fuel tank.

BYD’s new Super E-Platform offers 1,000kW charge speeds, which is four times quicker than the 250kW charging rates of Tesla superchargers.

These speeds can offer a range of up to 400km (249 miles) in just five minutes of charging.

During a live stream event at the company’s headquarters in Shenzhen, China, BYD said mass production of the new technology would “completely solve users’ range anxiety when travelling”.

The first models to feature the ultra-fast charging system will be BYD’s latest Han L and Tang L models, which will only be available in China to begin with.

Demand for electric vehicles in China has soared in recent years, with more than 20 million battery-powered cars now on the road.

BYD is the best-selling brand in China, accounting for roughly a third of all EV sales in the country. Last year, the company overtook Tesla to become the world’s largest EV manufacturer, despite a relatively modest market share in Europe – and still no presence in the US.

Data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) revealed that the global surge in electric vehicle sales has seen demand for combustion engine cars begin to drop.

The figures showed that electric cars made up 18 per cent of all new cars sold worldwide in 2023, up from 14 per cent the year before.

Meanwhile, sales of combustion engine cars fell by a quarter from 83.7 million to 62.8 million between 2018 and 2023, suggesting that global sales of polluting vehicles have already peaked.

BYD’s latest breakthrough is expected to continue driving demand, though the flash-charging system will require specialist charging ports in order to achieve the most efficient charging times.

The company’s founder, Wang Chuanfu, said during the livestream that prices for the Han L and Tang L models will likely start at around $40,000.

Australia’s growing heatwave threat putting strain on people’s hearts

Rising temperatures in Australia are putting increasing strain on people’s hearts, with heat-related cardiovascular disease expected to double or even triple by mid-century, according to a new study.

Nearly 50,000 years of healthy life are lost every year in Australia due to cardiovascular disease linked to hot weather, accounting for 7.3 per cent of the nation’s total heart disease burden.

That number is set to skyrocket as the climate crisis intensifies, the study published on Monday in the European Heart Journal said.

“If we continue on our current emissions path, the burden of heart disease from extreme heat could more than double by 2050,” professor Peng Bi, study lead researcher from the University of Adelaide, said.

Researchers say while longer heatwaves are associated with many adverse health impacts, it is still not clear exactly how many people are living with serious heart disease or dying early because of higher temperatures. The new study offers an understanding.

“Many of us have experienced how hot weather can make us feel unwell, but what we are seeing now is that climate change is worsening cardiovascular health at an alarming rate,” the professor said.

“When the weather is hot, our hearts have to work harder to help us cool down. This added pressure can be dangerous, especially for people with cardiovascular disease.”

The study analyses 15 years of Australian health data to measure the impact of heat-related cardiovascular disease. It uses a metric called disability-adjusted life years, which accounts for both years lost to premature death and years spent living with illness.

“This study combines several key factors – climate change, population shifts, and adaptation strategies – to give a full picture of the disease burden across Australia. This makes our study one of the first of its kind globally,” Dr Bi said.

An average of 49,483 years of healthy life are lost annually to cardiovascular disease caused by heat, most due to early death rather than illness.

The study uses climate models based on greenhouse gas emission scenarios to project the worsening impact in the coming decades.

By 2030, the burden of heart disease linked to extreme heat is expected to increase by 83.5 per cent, reaching over 90,000 years of healthy life lost annually, it predicts. By 2050 the loss is projected to soar to 139,828 years, a 182.6 per cent rise, if emissions stabilise.

But under a worst-case scenario, where emissions continue rising unchecked, the increase may be as high as 225.6 per cent, with 161,095 years of healthy life lost annually by 2050.

Though the study is focused on Australia, rising temperatures are a global public health crisis. “While the specific risks may vary depending on local climates, population demographics and levels of adaptation, the overall trend – that higher temperatures lead to more cardiovascular disease burden – is likely relevant in many parts of the world,” Dr Bi said.

Scientists say the findings show there’s a need for immediate public health action to protect vulnerable populations, particularly older adults, people with pre-existing heart conditions and those living in extreme heat zones.

“Our research shows that as climate change brings more frequent and intense heat, the risks associated with higher temperatures will increase, especially for vulnerable groups,” Dr Bi said.

The researchers stress that adaptation strategies – such as urban cooling projects, better emergency responses and stronger public health campaigns – can significantly reduce the impact of extreme heat on heart disease.

On an individual level, health experts say, staying hydrated, seeking cool environments and limiting outdoor activities during peak temperatures can help. They also recommend monitoring heart health closely, especially for those with existing cardiovascular conditions.

The Australian Heart Foundation urges people to adopt heart-healthy diets containing more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins to reduce overall cardiovascular risk.

Jury fails to reach verdict in Toyah Cordingley beach murder trial

The jury in the murder trial of a man accused of stabbing a woman at least 26 times has been discharged, paving the way for a retrial.

Organic food store worker Toyah Cordingley, 24, was found dead on the remote Wangetti Beach in Queensland on 22 October 2018.

She was out walking her dog when she was stabbed at least 26 times in what was called a “frenzied, brutal and sadistic” attack. Her body was found half-buried in sand dunes by her father.

Rajwinder Singh, 40, a former hospital nurse at nearby Innisfail, fled to India hours after Cordingley’s body was found, leaving behind his wife and three children. He was arrested by police in Delhi and extradited to Australia in 2023.

The jurors in the Supreme Court in Cairns were unable to reach a unanimous decision in deliberations that began on Friday and continued until Monday.

They then issued a note to Justice James Henry informing him that they were deadlocked and unable to reach a unanimous decision while there were no further questions or evidence to consider.

“I thank you for your diligence,” the judge said as he discharged the jury.

A hung jury is dismissed under Queensland law if they are unable to reach a unanimous or majority verdict, paving the way for a retrial with a new jury.

Justice Henry said a hearing would take place on 26 March to set a retrial date, adding that further delay in the case “would be a sad thing for all concerned”.

Mr Singh’s defence counsel, Angus Edwards, said that he could go for a different legal representation during the retrial.

Mr Singh, originally from Buttar Kalan in northern India’s Punjab state, had been living in Australia since 2009.

At the time of Cordingley’s murder, he was living in Innisfail, two hours away from where her body was located.

There were no eyewitnesses to Cordingley’s death or the subsequent hiding of the body even though several people visited the 4km beach the day she was killed.

The three-week trial saw many of those people tell the court they saw a suspicious man staring at them, but did not actually witness the murder.

The prosecution produced cellphone data suggesting the victim’s phone moved in the same direction as Mr Singh’s blue Alfa Romeo sedan on the day she went missing.

The court was also told that a DNA sample taken from a stick in the victim’s shallow grave was likely a match for Mr Singh. In addition, Mr Singh’s hurried escape to India was presented as evidence in the trial.

Mr Singh denied any wrongdoing. “I did not kill the woman,” he had told a Delhi court after his arrest in India.

After his return, he said he would “reveal all the details” to an Australian court and told reporters that “there were two killers and two victims”.

Mr Singh was arrested by Delhi police based on intelligence shared by the international policing organisation Interpol as well as Australian police. The Queensland government had offered A$1m (£563,000) for information that could lead to his arrest, making it the largest reward offered in the history of the state.

Mass poisoning suspected as hundreds of birds fall from trees

Hundreds of corellas have been discovered either dead or in a critical state in New South Wales, Australia, in what is suspected to be a mass poisoning.

Dozens of distressed birds were seen falling out of trees on Monday, the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority said as they launched an investigation. The affected birds were in the Newcastle, Carrington and Hamilton areas.

Many birds were found disoriented, bleeding, or in distress, with more than 60 euthanised by a local vet. They were found in parks, shopping centres, on ovals and in front yards.

There are fears that more birds may be affected in the coming days.

Corellas, a kind of small cockatoo, often come into conflict with farmers as they cause significant damage to farms, orchards, and sometimes even buildings.

Jason Gordon, the Environment Protection Authority’s executive director of regulatory operations, described the situation as “distressing” and said the corellas also suffered from paralysis and an inability to fly.

“The misuse of pesticides, whether deliberate or unintentional, is completely unacceptable and carries heavy penalties,” he said.

Hunter Wildlife Rescue said that the incident was likely the result of poisoning.

“They are all over the neighbourhood. We are getting calls from members of the public who are finding them in their front yards, they are being found on ovals,” the rescue organisation’s head, Kate Randolph, said. “Everyone’s working together. It’s a heartbreaking situation.”

Dr Tania Bishop, a vet with Australia’s largest wildlife rescue organisation Wires also said that mass poisoning was a likely explanation. However, she told the Guardian that toxicology results identifying potential poisons could take weeks.

“Testing will include ruling out bird flu and inspecting impacted locations for evidence of potential pesticide misuse,” the Environment Protection Authority said.

“We’re also contacting several vets across the Newcastle area to confirm the numbers of sick and dead birds, and where exactly they’ve been found.”

A practitioner at the Hamilton Veterinary Clinic told the Newcastle Herald he had never seen anything like this in his 13 years there.

“They are in agony,” he said. “They spread their wings and look at you as if to say help me. It’s absolutely horrible.”

The incident has caused outrage in the community. “This is absolutely disgusting! These creatures are our Native Australian birds and have as much right as we do to this earth! We are here to protect them,” one resident posted on Facebook. “I hope the perpetrators are caught and held accountable and rot!”

Another wrote: “What sick human would do this.”

“This is just too sad,” said another. “What is wrong with some people. These are living breathing animals. We share, not own this planet.”

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported in 2023 that farmers in Victoria were using eagles and falcons to deter corellas and other nuisance birds in a humane, non-lethal way to protect their crops. The trained raptors would fly over the affected areas, scaring the corellas without attacking them.

Protests intensify as Yoon Suk Yeol impeachment ruling nears

Political tension is on the rise as South Korea’s Constitutional Court prepares to rule on president Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, with rival parties and protest movements deepening divisions.

The ruling, expected this week, has sparked protests across the country, with both supporters and opponents of Mr Yoon taking to the streets in large numbers.

Kweon Seong-dong, floor leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), stated that the party would accept the court’s decision, regardless of the outcome.

“Our party’s official stance is that it will respect the Constitutional Court’s final verdict, in line with the president’s intention to do so as exhibited during his final remarks at the impeachment trial,” Mr Kweon told a press conference at the National Assembly on Sunday.

His comments followed concerns that some ruling party lawmakers had encouraged pro-Yoon protesters to disrupt court proceedings if the verdict favoured impeachment, reported Korea Herald.

When asked about PPP lawmakers joining pro-Yoon rallies, Mr Kweon dismissed the notion of restricting their actions, saying it was not “desirable to control each individual lawmaker over their remarks”.

His comments came as 82 PPP lawmakers filed a petition on 12 March demanding that the Constitutional Court dismisses the motion to impeach Mr Yoon.

Amid this political standoff, opposition leaders have urged lawmakers from both sides to commit to respecting the court’s ruling. Ahn Cheol-soo of the PPP called for rival parties to jointly affirm their acceptance of the verdict, warning that public disorder could escalate if they failed to do so.

Former lawmaker Kim Doo-kwan also suggested a bipartisan press conference after the ruling to demonstrate political unity.

Protests have intensified in the lead-up to the verdict.

On Saturday, demonstrators demanding Mr Yoon’s reinstatement gathered near the Constitutional Court in central Seoul, with police estimating the crowd at 6,000.

Meanwhile, left-wing groups and opposition lawmakers have been staging daily marches across the city, calling for the impeachment to be upheld with police estimating that some 42,500 protesters gathered in front of gate calling for Mr Yoon’s removal.

The Constitutional Court’s verdict carries significant political consequences. If six or more of the nine justices vote to impeach, Mr Yoon will be permanently removed from office, triggering a snap presidential election within 60 days, reported the Korea Times. If less than six justices vote for impeachment, Mr Yoon will retain his position.

The opposition Democratic Party argues that failing to remove Mr Yoon would set a dangerous precedent, enabling future presidents to use martial law to suppress dissent.

Representative Park Chan-dae, the party’s floor leader, called for a swift decision, citing concerns over prolonged uncertainty damaging South Korea’s economy and social stability.

“As the ruling on impeachment is delayed, social anxiety and confusion are increasing, and economic damage is also growing.” He added: “The extreme right’s intimidation of the Constitutional Court has gone too far, and violent incitement continues unabated. The longer the ruling is delayed, the greater the harm will become uncontrollable, and our society will spiral into extreme confrontation.”

Mr Park, along with other members of the Democratic Party marched from National Assembly to emblematic square in Gwanghwamun.

The controversy over Mr Yoon’s impeachment has also affected broader governance. The PPP and Democratic Party remain at odds over key policy issues, including budget allocations and pension reform. However, a rare bipartisan agreement emerged over the weekend, with opposition lawmakers indicating they would accept the PPP’s proposal to raise the income replacement ratio as part of pension reforms.

The impeachment trial has also left prime minister Han Duck-soo in limbo. He has been suspended from duties since December after lawmakers passed a separate impeachment motion against him.

The PPP has pushed for the Constitutional Court to rule on Mr Han’s case first, arguing that delaying his reinstatement is damaging governance. Two justices have been appointed since the impeachment motion against Mr Yoon was ratified, leaving one seat still vacant on the nine-member court.