AN EVER-CHANGING COLLECTION OF ARTICLES FROM AROUND THE WORLD CONCERNING EFFORTS TO STOP EXTINCION OF THE ENDANGERED CATS OF OUR PLANET

TIGERS - WHERE DO THEY STAND TODAY?

The latest global study on tigers pinpoint Malaysia as one of 10 sites crucial for the future survival of the big cat as the country still contains substantial tiger habitats and a viable tiger population. Dr John Seidensticker, chairman of Save the Tiger Fund which commissioned the study, says Taman Negara and Belum forest collectively spread over 12,900sqkm, making it one of world’s largest transboundary "tiger conservation landscape" (TCL, or places with the best chance of supporting viable tiger populations into the future) and among the 20 priority TCLs. "One reason why Malaysia still has tigers today is because it had conserved large tiger habitats such as Taman Negara," says Seidensticker, senior scientist at Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park and one of the authors of the study. The highest densities of tigers occur wherever there are many ungulate prey.

The landmark study, Setting Priorities for Conservation and Recovery of Wild Tigers: 2005-2015 found that tigers today occupy only 7% of their historic range and use 40% less habitat than a decade ago. The good news is that large areas of habitat remain. The study, produced by scientists at World Wildlife Fund, Wildlife Conservation Society, Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park and Save The Tiger Fund, identified 76 TCLs covering 1.1 mil sqkm, half of which can still support 100 tigers or more, thus providing excellent opportunities for recovery of wild tiger populations. "These are areas where tigers could be saved. Such knowledge will guide future investments in tiger conservation efforts," says Seidensticker, who recently joined a workshop to draft a Malayan tiger conservation plan.

The world’s largest tiger landscapes exist in the Russian Far East and India. South-East Asia holds promise to sustain healthy tiger populations although many areas have lost tigers over the last 10 years. The highest densities of tigers occur wherever there are many ungulate (hoofed animal) prey. India and Nepal have a good mixture of grassland and woodland that support large numbers of deer, and which in turn, feed the tigers. Here, tiger densities may reach 16 individuals per 100sqkm. In places that lack big grassy patches like the Russian Far East temperate forests and the Malaysian rainforest, prey densities are low and tigers must cover huge areas to feed. Thus these areas can only support around one to three tigers per 100sqkm. Affluence among the ethnic groups of Tibet and southern China is fuelling demand for tiger pelts.

Meanwhile, proposals for farming of tigers for trade have drew objections from tiger conservationists, who argue that captive breeding will not eliminate, but encourage, poaching. "Experience has shown that parts from wild animals are preferred and therefore, yield premium pricing that motivates poachers and smugglers," says a statement from Save the Tiger Fund. It is also impossible to release bred tigers into the wild, as has been done with other species, because tigers fed by humans are inclined to continue seeking food from humans. "True tiger conservation requires saving not just tigers, but the complex web of plant and animal life in the tiger’s habitats. Production farming for tigers would be a step backward in wildlife conservation."

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Tiger Crisis Demands Urgent Action Says WWF Chief Scientist



Chief scientist for the World Wildlife Fund Eric Dinerstein announced the release of the most comprehensive study to date of the habitat occupied by wild tigers.

Details of the study were discussed at a press conference at the lion and tiger exhibit at the National Zoo in Washington DC, and revealed disturbing news about tigers' shrinking habitat but also cause for optimism.

"We are faced with a second 'Inconvenient Truth': wild tigers are slipping away from us," Dinerstein said. "Tigers now survive in a mere 7 percent of their historic range and use 40 percent less area than was estimated in 1997. This is shocking news."

The study focuses on a concrete plan of action to rescue tigers from what scientists call a "range collapse." The study also found some good news. The Terai Arc Landscape, an area where WWF has been involved for many years, which spans southern Nepal and northern India is today home to some of the densest concentrations of tigers on the planet after creating new wildlife reserves and parks.

"Where we have invested in tiger conservation, conditions have improved dramatically," Dinerstein said. "Tigers were at record lows in the Terai Arc a few decades ago. Today it is emerging as a stronghold for tigers. If this can happen there surely it can happen elsewhere

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ALL ABOUT SUMATRAN TIGERS - IT'S NOT A PRETTY PICTURE

It is estimated that only between 500-600 Sumatran tigers remain in the wild, and the actual number may be as low as 400. And their population is dwindling rapidly.

In 1978 a tiger census reported around 1,000 Sumatran tigers still in the wild. This means over the last 25 years, the population of Sumatran tigers has been cut in half.

The Sumatran tiger is considered to be a ‘critically’ endangered species.

The Sumatran tiger is found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra off the Malaysian Peninsula. Their habitat ranges from lowland forest to mountain forest and includes evergreen, swamp and tropical rain forests.

In recent years Sumatra has seen a great deal of agricultural growth and this has fragmented the tigers habitat. Most of the remaining Sumatran tigers now live in five National Parks, two Game Reserves, though around 100 live in an unprotected area that will most likely be lost to agriculture in the near future.

This destruction of habitat is considered the greatest threat to the survival of the Sumatran tiger, followed by poaching. The tigers are especially vulnerable to poaching in the ‘unprotected’ areas.

Although it is illegal to hunt tigers, this has not stopped the poaching of these animals for tiger products. China is considered the largest consumer and producer of manufactured products containing tiger parts, though tiger bones and other tiger products have been found in Taiwan and South Korea, and in North American cities.

If they are to survive, it will depend on people wisdom to see the Sumatran’s tiger place in the world and in a culture.