There's been a dearth of good news on the wildlife front recently, especially with reports of billions of animals losing their lives as a result of bushfires in Australia.

Here's a particularly heartwarming photo though, of what seems to be a success story captured in India.

Magical shot of tiger family

On Jan. 6, a photo of a family of tigers was shared on Twitter by one Parveen Kaswan.

Parveen states on his Twitter profile that he works for the Indian Forest Service, and is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The photo, which has garnered over 3,200 retweets and 14,700 likes, features a mother tigress and her cubs.

https://twitter.com/ParveenKaswan/status/1214048610150600705

The photo looks almost as if it belongs in a fairy tale, with the mother leading her children through a sun-dappled path between the trees.

The sight is made even more magical considering that tigers usually give birth to a litter comprising an average of three cubs, yet this one has five cubs surrounding her.

Population of tigers rapidly increasing

Hope for the tigers in India have been raised.

A 2018 census of the tiger population in India presented by prime minister Narendra Modi in July 2019 revealed that the numbers had been consistently growing.

The population of 2,226 in 2014 had risen by nearly a third to 2,967 in 2019, reported BBC

Narendra added that India is now "one of the biggest and most secure habitats of the tiger".

The country is now estimated to contain about 70 per cent of the world's tigers.

The increase can be attributed to improved conservation measures, including a strict ban on hunting implemented in 1972, as well as more education efforts in villages.

Previously between 1875 and 1925, around 80,000 tigers were killed in India alone.

However, conservationists mentioned that the protected areas which the tigers inhabit need to be expanded, otherwise human-wildlife conflicts could increase in the near future.

Top photo from @ParveenKaswan / Twitter