6 Tigers Worth Preserving and 3 We Hope Go Extinct
The Year of the Tiger marks a perilous time for the endangered cat.
By Gloria Dawson
Happy Year of the (Endangered) Tiger
As many Asian countries began celebrating the Year of the Tiger on February 14, tigers themselves have little reason to rejoice. There are as few as 3,200 tigers left in the wild, and they are being threatened by deforestation, poachers, illegal trafficking and other factors.
WWF, a leader in animal conservation, plans to use the celebration of Year of the Tiger to draw attention to these amazing endangered animals. In September a Global Tiger Summit will be held in Vladivostok, Russia with the goal of having all tiger range countries lay out an agenda to recover the population of these big cats. The goal is to double the species numbers by 2022, the next Year of the Tiger. The WWF has also put together a list of the Top 10 Tiger Trouble Spots.
"Tigers are being persecuted across their range – poisoned, trapped, snared, shot and squeezed out of their homes," said Mike Baltzer, leader of WWF's Tiger Initiative. "But there is hope for them in this Year of the Tiger. There has never been such a committed, ambitious, high-level commitment from governments to double wild tiger numbers. They have set the bar high and we hope for the sake of both the tiger and people that they reach it. Tigers are a charismatic species and a flagship for Asia's biological diversity, culture and economy."
Find out how you can help WWF with its mission.
Pictured here is an Indian tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) at the Bangkok Zoo, Thailand
Sumatran Tiger (Panthera Tigris Sumatrea)
The Sumatran tiger found in Indonesia is in danger due to logging and loss of habitat.
Tiger (Panthera Tigris)
A captive tiger at Africa Marine World, Vallejo, Calif. There are over 5,000 tigers in captivity in the U.S. -- that's more than the number of wild tigers around the world.
Indian Tiger (Panthera Tigris Tigris)
A two-month-old Indian tiger cub.
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