Hope for the endangered tiger

The tiger is the largest, most powerful and—for many people—the most beautiful of the world’s cats. They are also “keystone predators” and play a critical ecological role by influencing and maintaining the species diversity and richness of the ecosystems in which they live. The tiger is truly an iconic species that is instantly recognizable to people around the world. It is incredibly sad therefore that they are also among the most vulnerable and threatened species on Earth.

Historically tigers ranged over a territory stretching from eastern Turkey to the Russian Far East, extending northward to Siberia and southward into Bali. But by the end of the last century, the Bali, Javan and Caspian tigers were extinct. The South China tiger is now probably extinct in the wild. A hundred years ago there were probably 60,000 tigers in the wild. Today that number is estimated to be about 3,500. The threats to the species include poaching and illegal trade, habitat fragmentation and destruction, loss of prey and killing of tigers that come into conflict with villagers living around their habitat.
The good news is that a global initiative has been initiated to increase the numbers of wild tigers. Last week the 13 remaining tiger range states—countries that still have tigers—met in Bali, Indonesia and laid the foundation for world leaders to come together later this year at a Tiger Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. The goal of the summit will be to agree to a historical global plan to double the number of tigers in the wild. This is a critical goal in the fight to save this endangered species.
The range states also agreed to draft a joint commitment for tiger conservation that will include an agreement that tigers are key to healthy ecosystems; an agreement to collaborate on issues that affect tigers across borders; increased enforcement efforts to eradicate poaching and the trafficking of tiger parts; and identifying and better protecting key tiger habitats.
The Bali meeting was a follow up to earlier governmental meetings on tiger conservation including the first Asian ministerial conference on tiger conservation held in Hua Hin, Thailand in January 2010. It was at that meeting that the goal to double the number of wild tigers by 2022 was originally adopted.
I’m not going to hesitate the next time I have an opportunity to travel to India to see tigers. And if all goes as the tiger range states plan, there might even be more tigers to see than there are now.