Yahoo - AFP, Annie Banerji, April 11, 2016
The number of wild tigers across the globe has increased for the first time in more than a century thanks to improved conservation efforts, wildlife groups said on Monday.
 |
| A wild tiger at the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, western Thailand, pictured a camera trap photo released by the Government of Thailand and the Wildlife Conservation Society Thailand on February 18, 2016 (AFP Photo/Wildlife Conservation Society Thailand) |
The number of wild tigers across the globe has increased for the first time in more than a century thanks to improved conservation efforts, wildlife groups said on Monday.
Deforestation,
encroachment of habitat and poaching have devastated tiger populations across
Asia, but countries with the big cats are working to increase their numbers.
Data
compiled by the WWF and the Global Tiger Forum show that the global population
of wild tigers has risen to an estimated 3,890 from an all-time low of 3,200 in
2010.
 |
The number
of wild tigers has gone up
for the first time in a century, according to
new figures released by the World Wildlife
Fund.
|
It is the
first time the number of the endangered cats has gone up since 1900, when there
were 100,000 tigers.
India is
home to more than half of the world's tiger population with some 2,226 tigers
roaming its reserves across 18 states, according to the last count in 2014.
Russia,
Bhutan and Nepal also saw higher tiger numbers in their latest surveys.
However,
experts cautioned that the numbers may be partly down to improved data
gathering, with the inclusion of new sample areas and upgraded survey
techniques as well as enhanced protection efforts.
Global
efforts
Bangladesh
registered a severe decline from 440 tigers in 2010 to 106 in 2015, though
conservationists say this may have been due to an over-estimation of the
population six years ago.
There has
been a rapid fall in Indonesia because of heavy forest destruction to meet a
growing global demand for palm oil, pulp and paper.
Cambodia is
mulling the idea of reintroducing tigers after declaring them functionally
extinct last week following no evidence of the animals since 2007.
Poachers
often sell tiger body parts to the lucrative traditional Chinese medicine
market, and the felines also face other man-made problems such as habitat loss.
In 2010 the
13 countries with tiger populations -- Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Cambodia,
India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam
-- launched a plan to double their numbers by 2022.
Monday's
global census was released a day before a three-day meeting of ministers from
these countries in New Delhi to discuss conservation efforts.
Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the conference which is expected to be
attended by around 700 tiger experts, scientists, managers and donors from
across the world.
"Due
to the concerted efforts of the government and other stakeholders, more than 70
percent of the global wild tiger population is in India," Prakash
Javadekar, India's Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister said in a
statement.
Conference
delegates are expected to discuss some of the key conservation issues including
a unified anti-poaching strategy, monitoring protocols, habitat and landscape
management.
Hollywood
actor Leonardo DiCaprio, whose eponymous charitable foundation was also
involved in the 2010 tiger conservation plan, voiced his elation at the
increased numbers.
"Proud
of @World_Wildlife and #LDF's efforts that have helped increase tiger
populations for the first time in 100 yrs," the Oscar-winner and
environmentalist tweeted.
No comments:
Post a Comment