(CNN)Wild tigers in India appear to be staging a comeback in the battle against extinction, with the country's Environment Minister announcing a 30% increase in the endangered species' population since 2011. "Our latest estimate today is that India has 70% of the world's tiger population and we have now 2,226 tigers presently in 47 tiger reserves [up from 1,706 in 2011] and this is a great achievement. It is a net increase of 30% over the last estimation,"  Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said in a statement Monday. Researchers involved in the study, the third of its kind carried out in India, say they used advanced technology to assess the population of the big cats.
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India's Environment Minister has announced a 30% increase in wild tigers in India since 2011
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Debbie Banks from the Environmental Investigation Agency says this has "set India apart from other tiger range countries"
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One of the major challenges that continues to exist, however, is the sophistication of the illegal tiger trade
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The significance of the tiger goes beyond its aesthetics, says Banks
And if today's results are anything to go by, @placeholder says India appears to be leading that charge.