Wildlife sanctuaries are established by IUCN category II protected areas.
India has 515
animal sanctuaries referred to as
wildlife sanctuaries category IV protected areas. Among these, the 48 tiger reserves are governed by
Project Tiger, and are of special significance in the conservation of the tiger. Some wildlife sanctuaries are specifically named bird sanctuary, e.g.,
Keoladeo National Park before attaining National Park status. Many National Parks were initially wildlife sancturies.The conservative measures taken by the Indian Government for the conservation of Tigers was awarded by a 30% rise in the number of tigers in 2015.