Estimations in 2005 indicate an approximate worldwide population of 4,500 Bengal Tigers: The bulk of the population of about 3000 individuals live in India. There are about 200 tigers living in both Bangladesh and Nepal, and a small, unknown number in Northwestern Myanmar. The Bengal Tiger is now strictly protected, and is the national animal of both Bangladesh and India. After the resounding success of the Tiger conservation program in India known as Project Tiger, the population of wild tigers has increased dramatically. The tiger population of India is officially estimated to have reached about 3,500, up from 1,200 in the 1970s. But since the early 1990s, the tiger population has suffered a setback due to habitat destruction and the large scale poaching of these animals for their skins and bones. The Indian government is trying hard to show the world that the tiger is thriving in India, often using controversial techniques like taking moulds of paw prints to track tiger populations. It was recently discovered that tigers were wiped out from one of Project Tiger's leading sanctuaries, Sariska, much to the embarrassment of the government. Some believe that the actual tiger population in India could be less than 2,000.