Charismatic, independent and capable of arousing the interest of Leonardo di Caprio, Naomi Campbell and Vladimir Putin, the tiger is a majestic animal in serious difficulty.
While tigers once roamed in at least 25 countries at the start of the 20th century, today they are in dwindling, separated communities across just 13 nations. Their demise has been rapid – of the eight original subspecies of tigers, three have become extinct in the last 60 years. Subspecies have also collapsed one after another – the Bali tiger in the 1940s, the central Asia tiger in the 1970s, the Java tiger in the 1980s, the south China wild tiger the 1990s.
The remaining populations are as follows: India 1,200-1650; Indonesia 450-700; Bangladesh 400; Nepal 350; Russia 350; Bhutan 70-80; China 40-50; Cambodia 10-50; Laos 50; Vietnam less than 30; Burma about 100; Thailand 250-500; Malaysia 300-500.
So, what’s going on? How can we explain such an incredible decline?
Well, there are myriad reasons, most of which can be reduced to commercial interest and human exploitation.
Unlike lions, leopards and cheetahs, tigers prefer to live in densely covered land where they can hide in tall grass, camouflaged by their dark stripes, and ambush their prey. However, with population growth, agricultural/industrial expansion and human intervention generally, tigers are being pushed into smaller areas of land. This attack on their habitat makes it easier for poachers to hunt them. As usual, short-term economic gain supersedes longer term environmental concerns. Their skins and body parts are sold as ingredients for traditional Chinese medicines.
It is this backdrop which gave rise to the International Tiger Forum in St Petersburg (Nov 21st – 24th), an event which aims to secure $350m for tiger conservation. There have been some notable contributions already. India, which has the largest wild population, said it planned to establish eight new reserves, while Thailand promised to spend $98.6m over five years to strengthen conservation and tackle the illegal wildlife trade. Russia pledged to crack down on poachers and to work with China to set up a shared, cross-border protected area aimed at adding space for an extra 500 Amur tigers. Malaysia said it would increase its population, but it would need help with the expected cost of $1m per tiger.
Tigers are critically endangered and they don’t stand a chance unless we radically change our behaviour. Putin’s Tiger Forum is a step in the right direction, but it can’t end with a four day photo-op. Long term commitment with regular meetings between these 13 countries and a tightening of the standards of wildlife crime should be next on the agenda.
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