At the Amrabad Tiger Reserve (ATR) in Telangana, tiger numbers have climbed from 36 to 42 and females now outnumber males. A healthy female population with cubs and sub-adults, as ATR now records, signals that breeding is sustained, not just that animals are present. Beyond female numbers, better protection on the ground, healthier prey populations and lower poaching pressure have all contributed to the improvement in numbers. That makes the contrast with Kawal Tiger Reserve, also in Telangana, all the more striking. A Deccan Chronicle report says Kawal has gone 13 years in a row without a resident tiger population.