Tiger populations are rising for the first time in 100 years
For the first time in more than a century, the number of wild tigers roaming the forests of Asia has increased, researchers from the World Wildlife Fund and the Global Tiger Forum revealed Monday ahead of a major conservation conference regarding the species in New Delhi.
According to BBC News and Associated Press reports, the organizations are crediting improved efforts to protect wild tigers in several countries with helping the estimated population rise from an all-time low of about 3,200 six years ago to 3,890 during the most recent global census.
It marks the first time that tiger numbers have increased since 1900, when there were more than 100,000 tigers living in the wild, and while experts told reporters that the news was cause for celebration, they are not fully convinced that there are actually more tigers in the wild. Rather, the increase may be due to improved survey methods and an expanded search area.
“For the first time after decades of constant decline, tiger numbers are on the rise,” said Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF International, in a statement. “This offers us great hope and shows that we can save species and their habitats when governments, local communities and conservationists work together.”
Conservationists ‘simple formula’ appears to be paying dividends
The results of the new census, which compiles data from IUCN and the latest national tiger surveys, was presented just prior to the 3rd Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation, a conference at which government officials look for ways to accomplish the previously-established goal of doubling the global population of wild tigers by the year 2022.
WWF and Global Tiger Forum officials are crediting increases in the number of tigers in India, Russia, Nepal and Bhutan as once reason for the increased tiger totals. Nearly two-thirds of all wild tigers (2,226) were found in India alone, while Russia had 433, Nepal had 198, and Bhutan had 103, according to the survey.
Additional tigers were recorded in Bangladesh (106), China (more than 7), Indonesia (371), Laos (2), Malaysia (250), Thailand (189) and Vietnam (less than 5), the AP said. No tigers were found in Cambodia, and data from Myanmar was not included because census takers believed that their official count of 85 tigers in 2010 was too far out of date to be used.
“More important than the absolute numbers is the trend, and we’re seeing the trend going in the right direction,” Ginette Hemley, senior vice president of wildlife conservation at WWF, told the AP. Having “high-level political commitments… can make all the difference,” she added. “When you have well protected habitat and you control the poaching, tigers will recover. That’s a pretty simple formula. We know it works.”
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Image credit: Thinkstock
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