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Our News
Tigers in the Wild: WWF Aims to Double the Population by 2022
The global wild tiger population is estimated to be as low as 3,200 — down from between 5,000 to 7,000 during the last Year of the Tiger. Three sub-species of tiger have already been wiped out over the last 50 years. The remaining six sub-species are classified as endangered or critically endangered. Over the last 10 years, the amount of total tiger habitat area has decreased by an alarming 45% due to human activity. Today, tigers occupy just 7% of their historic habitat area.
In China, there are approximately 50 wild tigers remaining. Research conducted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Zoology showed that due to illegal poaching and widespread habitat loss, the Amur tiger population has dropped from around 200 in 1959 to 18-24 in 2006. The South China tiger, a species unique to China, has not been found in the wild for almost 25 years now. If a species has not been tracked for 40 years, it is regarded as extinct. In other words, there is a great chance that the South China tiger is on the brink of extinction.
WWF China is working to conserve wild tigers in China, and is seeking to increase their population. It has helped save the Amur tiger (the Siberia tiger) from extinction, transforming its diminishing population of just 40 to over 500. Conservation work includes establishing nature reserves and developing education programmes to stop poaching and the illegal trade of tiger products.
An amended CITES resolution on Asian big cats in March 2010 also calls for increased regional cooperation among tiger-range states, improved reporting, the establishment of a tiger trade database and improved law enforcement.
WWF’s goal is to double the population of wild tigers by 2022, the next Year of the Tiger. Although there are no wild tigers in Hong Kong, we can all support and help save the tiger by working together with WWF offices around the world.