Global Tiger Day 2014 – Global Wild Tiger Numbers Unknown
July 29th, Kuala Lumpur- Wild tigers are facing the risk of extinction in some countries due to a lack of accurate information on tiger populations, said WWF today.
At the 2010 St. Petersburg ‘Tiger Summit’ when tiger range countries committed to the goal Tx2 – doubling wild tigers by 2022 – the global wild tiger population was believed to be as few as 3200.
“This figure was just an estimate,” said Michael Baltzer, Leader of WWF Tigers Alive Initiative. “In 2010 many countries had not undertaken systematic national tiger surveys. Now many have or are doing so, but not all, leaving major, worrying gaps in our knowledge. Until we know how many tigers we have and where they are, we can’t know how best to protect them.”
Poaching is the greatest threat to wild tigers today. Along with ivory and rhino horn, tiger parts are in high demand throughout Asia. Statistics from TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, show that a minimum of 1590 tigers were seized between January 2000 and April 2014. That represents an average of two per week, however actual poaching levels are likely to be substantially higher. It is feared that countries not carrying out national tiger surveys could lose their tigers to poachers without realizing. This may already be the case for some countries.
Currently, wild tiger numbers are known for India, Nepal and Russia who carry out regular national surveys. Numbers will soon be known for Bhutan, Bangladesh and China who are in the process of carrying out surveys. Wild tiger populations for Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam are unknown.
WWF is calling on these countries to carry out surveys urgently. Systematic national surveys take 6-12 months to plan and a minimum of a year to complete, so these surveys must start now if an updated global tiger figure is to be released by the halfway point to Tx2 in 2016.
“We are more than a third of the way to 2022. We need to move at a faster, more determined pace if we hope to achieve the Tx2 goal,” added Baltzer.
During surveys individual tigers are identified using their stripes which are as unique as human fingerprints. The surveys show tiger populations, locations and trends. In the past, surveys have revealed tigers living outside protected areas or moving between protected areas through previously unknown and unprotected corridors. Having this information enables governments to effectively focus their anti-poaching efforts.
National tiger surveys are expensive, labour intensive and often take place in difficult terrain with challenging weather conditions. All these factors are barriers to governments completing the work. However the returns outweigh the investment and NGOs are willing to work with governments to share technical expertise and explore potential funding sources including international and private environment granting institutions.
Tigers are endangered. The wild tiger population has dropped 97% over the last hundred years. WWF was a driving force behind the ‘Tiger Summit’ and remains a major force behind the global Tx2 goal.
For further information on tiger surveys: panda.org/doubletigers
Notes to Editors
Global Tiger Day: The 13 tiger range countries created Global Tiger Day at the Tiger Summit, in November 2010 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Celebrated annually on 29 July, it aims to raise awareness of and support for conservation of wild tigers.
The 13 tiger range countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
Tx2 is the global goal, agreed by the 13 tiger range countries, to double the number of wild tigers by the next Year of the Tiger in 2022. TX2 was agreed in 2010 at the Tiger Summit in St Petersburg. WWF was a driving force behind the Tiger Summit and remains a major force behind TX2.
National Global Tiger Day events include:
– Nepal will celebrate with a televised talk show entitled “The ‘I’ in the Tiger is You”. The select panel of speakers will include: Mr. Megh Bahadur Pandey (Director General, Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation), Dr. Ghana S Gurung (Sr. Conservation Program Director, WWF Nepal), Mr. Rajesh Hamal (actor and TGG mentor) and a youth representative from WWF’s project site. Mr. Anil Chitrakar (Consulting Partner, Siddharthinc and TGG Mentor) will be facilitating and the audience will comprise youth members from The Generation Green campaign.
– India – The Uttar Pradesh TAL Tiger Monitoring Report will be released.
– WWF-China will hold joint Global Tigers Day and World Ranger Day events from July 29-31 including a ranger award ceremony and a ranger exchange bringing panda rangers and tiger rangers together.
– WWF-Thailand will be holding a seminar on the biodiversity of the national parks and the hope to double tiger numbers in the parks. Hosted by TV host Mr Kitti Singhapat the seminar will include the launch of a photo book entitled “Conserving Mae Wong and Khlong Lan National Parks”, produced by the WWF-Thailand tiger team with all profits from the sale of the book donated to a fund for rangers in Mae Wong & Khlong Lan National Parks.
– WWF-US will launch a petition targeting President Obama requesting tighter regulations for private ownership of captive tigers in order to ensure public safety and prevent captive tigers in the United States fuelling the illegal trade in tigers and tiger parts.
– WWF & Whiskas: Based on the success of the Whiskas-WWF UK campaign last year, WWF and Whiskas are launching an awareness raising campaign around tiger conservation in a number of European markets including Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, UK and Belgium.
Contacts:
Alison Harley
WWF Tigers Alive Initiative
tel: +60 12 2807 402
[email protected]
Nicholas Smith
WWF-International
tel: +65 6730 8136
[email protected]
David Hirsch
WWF-International
tel: +41 22 364 9554
[email protected]