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| credit: Getty Images |
Forget the deeply dysfunctional 'Tiger King' who achieved his 15 minutes of undeserved fame by exploiting tigers in captivity. The real success story is the number of tigers coming back in the wild. New figures from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) show populations are increasing in a number of regions that remain tiger country. Experts say the increases are remarkable. In 2010 there were only an estimated 3,200 tigers living in the wild--exceeded by the number of captive animals living in the US. Tiger range countries--India, Russia, China, Nepal and Bhutan have given tiger
advocates like
US Person hope for the future. In India, which is home to three quarters of Earth's tigers, the population is now estimated between 2,600 and 3,350. In Bhutan's Royal Manas National Park only 10 tigers were alive in 2010; that figure is now 22 in 2019. Neighbor Nepal has gone from 121 to 235. In Russia's far east, Amur tigers
[photo] have increased by 15% in the past ten years.
The Year of the Tiger (2010), saw range countries pledge to double their tiger populations
{21.01.12}. Increased protection efforts since then are paying off. Much remains to be done, however. Protection of their habitat and prey from human exploitation and disturbance are what tigers need to thrive. Snares pose a severe threat to tiger survival. Recent analysis says that there may be 123 million snares threatening wildlife in protected areas of Southeast Asia. A spokesperson for WWF says humans can help tigers by making sure the products they buy are not produced from illegal logging which destroys tiger habitat. Tigers need a "team effort" from local communities, consumers and governments to insure their survival in the wild.
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| credit: WWF |
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