Which big cat is the national animal of India?

The tiger is the national animal of India. More specifically, India’s national animal is commonly represented by the Royal Bengal tiger, the Bengal tiger population of Panthera tigris.

India adopted the tiger as its national animal in 1973, around the launch of Project Tiger. The choice reflected the animal’s cultural importance, symbolic association with strength and grace, and urgent conservation needs. The tiger replaced the Asiatic lion as the national animal, partly because tigers had a broader distribution across India.

India is home to the world’s largest population of wild tigers. They inhabit diverse environments, including tropical forests, grasslands, Himalayan foothills, and the mangrove landscapes of the Sundarbans. Project Tiger helped establish protected reserves and coordinate national conservation efforts.

The tiger is sometimes confused with the Asiatic lion because both are native to India and both appear in Indian cultural history. The lion remains restricted mainly to the Gir landscape in Gujarat, whereas tigers occupy many regions. India’s national emblem is a different animal symbol: the Lion Capital of Ashoka features Asiatic lions.