At last—some good news for tigers. Driven largely by conservation successes in India, Russia, and Nepal, the global population of tigers in the wild has shown a significant increase in the past few years, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reports in a new survey. The report comes as national leaders meet in India to discuss next steps for saving the iconic—and highly endangered—species.

The study estimates that there are now 3,890 wild tigers, up from 3,200 in 2010, when countries announced a historic commitment to double the population by 2022. Countries appear to be heading toward their goal, and this is the first time tiger numbers have been increasing globally in more than a hundred years.

"We're positively surprised by the numbers, which validate what we thought has been happening thanks to conservation efforts," says Ginette Hemley, senior vice president for conservation at WWF.

The conservation group compiled the data based on rigorous national surveys conducted by several countries, including India and Bangladesh, as well as on estimates by independent scientists from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the world’s authority on biodiversity conservation. Such estimates were necessary in countries where no formal tiger surveys have been done, including China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Myanmar.