An important meeting was held last Fall, vital to the survival of all tigers in the wild. On November 22, 2010, the International Tiger Forum was held in St. Petersburg, Russia. The meeting produced the Global Tiger Recovery Programme, a collaboration between 13 countries still with wild tigers. They set a goal of doubling the population of wild tigers by the next Year of the Tiger in 2022. The good news is that this conference was held at all. Many organizations worldwide are committed to keeping tigers from extinction in the wild. Unfortunately, they have incredible odds against them, mainly in poachers and habitat loss. They have reduced tiger numbers from over 100,000 roughly one hundred years ago to estimates today of less than 3,000. Tigers now reside in just 7% of their historic range.
Today there are six species of tigers – Amur (formerly Siberian), with about 450 tigers, Bengal with around 1,850; Indochinese, 350; Malayan, maybe about 500; Sumatran, 400. And the South China tiger, with no firm numbers and no sightings of this tiger in more than 25 years. This is no longer the world’s criteria for extinction. We lost three species, the Caspian, the Bali, and the Javan tiger, to death in the last century.
Although population numbers for all tiger species have continued to plummet, countries and organizations are working towards saving these magnificent creatures. In late January, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) assisted the government of Nepal in the country’s first successful relocation of an injured tiger to a new home in one of the country’s premier national parks. In Malaysia, they have recently passed a conservation bill that increases the penalties for wildlife crime, with poaching of tigers and trading in their parts now receiving the maximum punishment. For many years, India has been at the forefront of poaching and protecting the Bengal tiger. But recently, India announced its 39th tiger reserve (Sahyadri), with another eight new additions in development, proving their commitment to conserving the tiger in their country. Through these efforts and many more, it is possible to keep tigers where they belong – in the wild!