Bengal Tiger, Panthera tigris, female crossing track, Bandavgarh National Park, India. David Tipling / Universal Images Group / Getty Images
By Neil Carter
Tigers are one of the world's most iconic wild species, but today they are endangered throughout Asia. They once roamed across much of this region, but widespread habitat loss, prey depletion and poaching have reduced their numbers to only about 4,000 individuals. They live in small pockets of habitat across South and Southeast Asia, as well as the Russian Far East — an area spanning 13 countries and 450,000 square miles (1,160,000 square kilometers).
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Today Asia is experiencing a road-building boom. To maintain economic growth, development experts estimate that the region will need to invest about <a href="https://www.adb.org/publications/asia-infrastructure-needs" target="_blank">US$8.4 trillion</a> in transportation infrastructure between 2016 and 2030.
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<em>Reposted with permission from </em><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/endangered-tigers-face-growing-threats-from-an-asian-road-building-boom-137052" target="_blank">The Conversation</a></em><em>.</em>
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<p>Major investment projects, such as China's <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13317" target="_blank">Belt and Road Initiative</a> — one of the largest infrastructure projects of all time — are fueling this growth. While roads can <a href="https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/29406/when-rural-roads-benefit-poor.pdf" target="_blank">reduce poverty</a>, especially in rural areas, many of Asia's new roads also are likely to traverse regions that are home to diverse plants and animals.</p><p>To protect tigers from this surge of road building, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=SquL06QAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">conservation scientists like me</a> need to know where the greatest risks are. That information, in turn, can improve road planning in the future.</p><p>In a newly published study, I worked with researchers at the University of Michigan, Boise State University and the University of British Columbia to examine how existing and planned Asian roads <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/18/eaaz9619" target="_blank">encroach on tiger habitats</a>. We forecast that nearly 15,000 miles (24,000 kilometers) of new roads will be built in tiger habitats by 2050, and call for bold new planning strategies that prioritize biodiversity conservation and sustainable road development across large landscapes.</p>
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Letting Humans In
<p>Road construction <a href="http://tigers.panda.org/news/asias-infrastructure-development-threatens-worlds-tigers/" target="_blank">worsens existing threats to tigers</a>, such as poaching and development, by paving the way for human intrusion into the heart of the tiger's range. For example, in the Russian Far East, roads have led to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2008.00458.x" target="_blank">higher tiger mortality</a> due to increased collisions with vehicles and more encounters with poachers.</p><p>To assess this threat across Asia, we focused on areas called Tiger Conservation Landscapes — 76 zones, scattered across the tiger's range, which conservationists see as crucial for the species' recovery. For each zone we calculated road density, distance to the nearest road and relative mean species abundance, which estimates the numbers of mammals in areas near roads compared to areas far from roads. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1522488113" target="_blank">Mean species abundance</a> is our best proxy for estimating how roads affect numbers of mammals, like tigers and their prey, across broad scales.</p><p>We also used <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aabd42" target="_blank">future projections of road building</a> in each country to forecast the length of new roads that might be built in tiger habitats by 2050.</p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cec6392b3df8ca30d414d90e477b9c60"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iFJSfOsbcDs?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
More Roads, Fewer Animals
<p>We estimated that more than 83,300 miles (134,000 kilometers) of roads already exist within tiger habitats. This is likely an underestimate, since many logging or local roads are missing from the global data set that we used.</p><p>Road densities in tiger habitat are one-third greater outside of protected areas, such as national parks and tiger reserves, than inside of protected areas. Non-protected areas averaged 1,300 feet of road per square mile (154 meters per square kilometer), while protected areas averaged 980 feet per square mile (115 meters per square kilometer). For tiger populations to grow, they will need to use the forests outside protected areas. However, the high density of roads in those forests will jeopardize tiger recovery.</p><p>Protected areas and priority conservation sites — areas with large populations of tigers — are not immune either. For example, in India — home to more than <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/07/29/746237332/census-finds-nearly-3-000-tigers-in-india" target="_blank">70% of the world's tigers</a> — we estimate that a protected area of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_reserves_of_India" target="_blank">500 square miles, or 1,300 square kilometers</a>, contains about 200 miles (320 kilometers) of road.</p><p>Road networks are expansive. More than 40% of areas where tiger breeding has recently been detected — crucial to tiger population growth — is within just 3 miles (5 kilometers) of a nearby road. This is problematic because <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2010.02.009" target="_blank">mammals often are less abundant</a> this close to roads.</p><p>In fact, we estimate that current road networks within tiger habitats may be reducing local populations of tigers and their prey by about 20%. That's a major decrease for a species on the brink of extinction. And the threats from roads are likely to become more severe.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzE4NDIxNi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NTc0NTM3OH0.pcm2nX06av2HMMRLuNGa0dRLEJppyx6FrKv3FEi-WmQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="dab6e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1d766502917e14ebd219933e2baabaf6" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Estimated road densities for 76 tiger conservation landscapes (colored zones), with darker red indicating more roads per unit area. Neil Carter / CC BY-ND
Making Infrastructure Tiger-Friendly
<p>Our findings underscore the need for planning development in ways that interfere as minimally as possible with tiger habitat. Multilateral development banks and massive ventures like the Belt and Road Initiative can be important partners in this endeavor. For example, they could help establish an international network of protected areas and habitat corridors to safeguard tigers and many other wild species from road impacts.</p><p>National laws can also do more to promote <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/27751" target="_blank">tiger-friendly infrastructure planning</a>. This includes keeping road development away from priority tiger populations and other "no go" zones, such as tiger reserves or habitat corridors.</p><p>Zoning can be used around infrastructure to prevent settlement growth and forest loss. Environmental impact assessments for road projects can do a better job of assessing how new roads might exacerbate hunting and poaching pressure on tigers and their prey.</p><p>Funding agencies need to screen proposed road developments using these tiger-friendly criteria before planners finalize decisions on road design, siting and construction. Otherwise, it might be too late to influence road planning.</p><p>There are also opportunities to reduce the negative effects of existing roads on tigers. They include closing roads to vehicular traffic at night, decommissioning existing roads in areas with important tiger populations, adding road signs announcing the presence of tigers and constructing wildlife crossings to allow tigers and other wildlife to move freely through the landscape.</p><p>Roads will become more pervasive features in Asian ecosystems as these nations develop. In my view, now is the time to tackle this mounting challenge to Asian biodiversity, including tigers, through research, national and international collaborations and strong political leadership.</p>
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Two rare Malayan tiger cubs born at the Bronx Zoo in January 2016, Nadia and Azul made their public debut in September 2016. Nadia has now tested positive for the new coronavirus, and Azul has shown symptoms.
A tiger at the Bronx Zoo is believed to be the first animal in the U.S. and the first tiger in the world to test positive for the new coronavirus.
<p>Nadia, a four-year-old Malayan tiger, was tested for the virus that causes COVID-19 after she developed a dry cough and began to lose her appetite, <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-zoo/tiger-at-new-yorks-bronx-zoo-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-idUKKBN21N0WV" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>. Three other tigers and three lions have also developed a cough, though Nadia was the only one tested because she was the sickest and large cats have to be anesthetized for testing.<br></p><p>"I couldn't believe it," Zoo Director Jim Breheny told <a href="https://apnews.com/0f47b8e4f883579712599690e1752c09" target="_blank">The Associated Press</a> of the positive test result.</p><p>He said the zoo had only tested Nadia "out of an abundance of caution."</p>
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word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">Bronx Zoo on Instagram: “As a special #caturday treat, enjoy a moment of zen courtesy of our Malayan tigers. . . #bronxzoo #stayhome #zooandaquariumzen #tiger…”</a></p>
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<p>Officials believe Nadia caught the disease from a zoo worker who was asymptomatic at the time. The worker had contact with all of the infected animals, who live in two separate areas, and the zoo has been closed to the public since March 16. The infected worker is now doing okay.</p><p>In addition to Nadia, her sister Azul, two Amur tigers and three African lions have shown symptoms. The first animal fell ill March 27.</p>
<p>"It's the first time, to our knowledge, that a [wild] animal has gotten sick from COVID-19 from a person," chief Bronx Zoo veterinarian Paul Calle told <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/04/tiger-coronavirus-covid19-positive-test-bronx-zoo/" target="_blank">National Geographic</a>.</p><p>The tigers' infection builds on evidence that animals can catch the virus from people. A Pomeranian and a German Shepherd tested positive for the virus in Hong Kong, as did a domestic cat in Belgium. A Chinese study also found that cats may be able to transmit the disease to each other.</p>
<p>Steven Van Gucht, virologist and federal spokesperson for the coronavirus epidemic in Belgium, explained to <a href="https://www.livescience.com/cat-infected-covid-19-from-owner.html" target="_blank">Live Science</a> why felines are susceptible to the disease:</p><blockquote>Cats and humans appear to have a similar "doorknob" on the surfaces of respiratory cells that lets the SARS-CoV-2 virus get inside, according to Van Gucht. <br><br>In humans, scientists have figured out that the SARS-CoV-2 virus attaches to a receptor protein called ACE2 that's on the outside of respiratory cells. Once inside of these cells, the virus hijacks certain machinery so it can replicate. <br><br>"The feline ACE2 protein resembles the human ACE2 homologue, which is most likely the cellular receptor which is being used by Sars-CoV-2 for cell entry," Van Gucht said.</blockquote><p>The Belgian cat recovered after nine days, and the tigers and lions in the Bronx Zoo are expected to make a full recovery as well, the <a href="https://www.wcs.org/" target="_blank">Wildlife Conservation Society</a>, which runs the zoo, told Reuters.</p><p>However, the fact that tigers and lions can catch the new coronavirus has frightening implications for feline <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a>.</p>
<p>"Big cats like tigers and lions are already facing a litany of threats to their survival in the wild," chief scientist and tiger program director at <a href="https://www.panthera.org/" target="_blank">Panthera</a> John Goodrich told National Geographic. "If COVID-19 jumps to wild big cat populations and becomes a significant cause of mortality, the virus could develop into a very serious concern for the future of these species."</p><p>This is <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coronavirus-great-apes-2645576034.html" target="_self">already a fear</a> for endangered populations of great apes, which are known to be susceptible to human colds. Bronx Zoo workers who interact with the big cats will now wear protective gear as they long have when working with primates, The Associated Press reported.</p><p>However, there is no evidence that the new coronavirus will pass back from cats or other animals to humans.</p><p>"There doesn't appear to be, at this time, any evidence that suggests that the animals can spread the virus to people or that they can be a source of the infection in the United States," U.S. Department of Agriculture official and veterinarian Dr. Jane Rooney told The Associated Press.</p>
<p>The American Veterinary Medical Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that people sick with the virus limit their contact with animals out of an abundance of caution.</p><p>While the new disease is originally believed to have passed from animals to humans, its spread is driven by human to human transmission. As of Monday morning, the disease has led to 1,277,962 confirmed cases and 69,555 deaths, according to data from <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank">Johns Hopkins University</a>. New York City is the U.S. epicenter of the outbreak, with more confirmed cases than any other city in the country, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/01/nyregion/nyc-coronavirus-cases-map.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>. The Bronx is the second-most impacted borough, after Queens.</p>
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By Zak Smith
It is pretty amazing that in this moment when the COVID-19 outbreak has much of the country holed up in their homes binging Netflix, the most watched show in America over the last few weeks has been focused on wildlife trade — which scientists believe is the source of the COVID-19 pandemic. Make no mistake: Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness is about wildlife trade and other aspects of wildlife exploitation, just as surely as the appearance of Ebola, SARS, MERS, avian flu and probably COVID-19 in humans is a result of wildlife exploitation. As a conservationist, this is one of the things I've been thinking about while watching Tiger King. Here are five more:
1. We are in a biodiversity crisis.
<p><a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/" target="_blank">A million plant and animal species</a> are threatened with extinction, many within decades, including tigers. The leading drivers of species decline and the impending collapse of ecosystems are ocean and land use changes (like converting wildlands into other uses, usually agricultural) and the direct exploitation of species (like taking animals out of the wild for eating, "medicinal" purposes, or status motives). It is for these exact reasons that there are more tigers in cages in the United States than there are in the wild. Developers continue to destroy tiger habitat and, in the not-so-distant past, hunters shot and killed tigers for sport or for trade in tiger products (and some still do illegally).</p>2. We must fundamentally change our relationship to nature.
<p>Transformative change is necessary to limit species extinctions and secure human well-being (functioning ecosystems provide the clean air, clean water, carbon sequestration, flood control, healthy soils, pollination of plants and healthy coastal waters humans need to survive). Transformative change in this context means "a <a href="https://ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-Global-Assessment" target="_blank">fundamental, system-wide reorganization</a> across technological, economic, and social factors, including paradigms, goals, and values." We aren't going to halt the loss of species and strengthen ecosystems if we continue to treat wild plants and animals as expendable and renewable resources that we can use however we want. The tigers and other animals in <em>Tiger King </em>are exploited for profit and personal interests. Regardless of how they may be respected, coveted, or cared for, they are still treated as exploitable objects, which reinforces other destructive attitudes toward nature. A tiger cub is something to be held and photographed, a wetland is something to be filled and built upon, a rhino is something to be killed so we can use its horn for fake medicine. It's a view of nature as being in service to human wants, an attitude that is destroying our planet and one that must change.</p>3. Most wildlife trade should be banned and we should protect more wild places.
<p>As noted above, ocean and land use changes and direct exploitation of species are causing an extinction crisis and threaten the ecosystems we depend on for human well-being. In line with our exploitative mindset, we've been stuck for centuries with economic and social patterns that allow unfettered use of wild places and wildlife until there's a problem. We need to flip that model on its head and only use wild places and wildlife if we can affirmatively demonstrate that such use won't contribute to the biodiversity and climate crisis. Tigers and the other animals appearing in <em>Tiger King</em> wouldn't be endangered today and wouldn't require "sanctuaries" if we hadn't destroyed their habitat and taken them from the wild for food, pets, "medicine" and trophies.</p><p>To set things right, we should ban most wildlife trade and protect more of the natural world. I say "most" wildlife trade to account for the exception of well-managed fisheries. NRDC has long sought to limit irresponsible wildlife trade (<a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/zak-smith/victory-imperiled-species-world-wildlife-conference" target="_blank">fighting for imperiled species</a> internationally, <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/elly-pepper/gov-cuomo-signs-historic-bill-reverse-biodiversity-loss" target="_blank">supporting state efforts</a> to limit trade, providing recommendations to China on <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/ning-lisa-hua/chinas-new-wildlife-trade-ban-upcoming-law-amendment" target="_blank">revisions to its wildlife law</a>), and now we must go further by banning most trade. In addition, we should support efforts to set aside vast swaths of ocean, land and terrestrial water to rebalance the functioning of our natural world. That's why NRDC and others support an initial call of protecting <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/andrew-wetzler/save-our-planet-protect-30-land-oceans-2030" target="_blank">30 percent of the world's oceans, lands and water areas</a> by 2030. In China, we're protecting areas in a way that helps tigers by supporting the government's development of a National Park system, with targeted efforts on one of its pilot parks, the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/zak-smith/important-advance-tigers" target="_blank">Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park</a>, which provides an important habitat for China's struggling populations of Amur tigers and leopards.</p>4. Not all sanctuaries are sanctuaries.
<p>A lot of so-called sanctuaries are dumpster fires; they serve no purpose other than exploitation of animals for profit, and the animals suffer needlessly. It doesn't look like the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park — the park formerly owned by Joe Exotic — is a sanctuary, though it styles itself as being one, so the public may be confused. According to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, <a href="https://www.ifaw.org/journal/tiger-king-what-you-should-know" target="_blank">legitimate sanctuaries</a> "do not breed, allow public contact with, sell, or otherwise exploit the animals that they take in." Legitimate sanctuaries can play an important role in saving imperiled species, promoting animal welfare, and educating the public. But those that do not meet strict standards are part of the problem, not the solution. The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) provides accreditation for sanctuaries that abide by a set of policies, including the maintenance of a nonprofit/noncommercial status. <a href="https://bigcatrescue.org/" target="_blank">Big Cat Rescue</a>, which is featured in the <em>Tiger King </em>series, "has held <a href="https://www.sanctuaryfederation.org/2020/04/02/global-federation-of-animal-sanctuaries-responds-to-tiger-king-docuseries/" target="_blank">GFAS Accreditation</a> status since 2009."</p>5. Changing our relationship to nature must include a just transition.
<p>Throughout the world and in the United States, millions of people use nature in destructive ways for their livelihoods. I don't say this with judgement; often, people are just doing what we've always done — business as usual — which is unfortunately destroying the planet. Workers in the fossil fuel industry, fishermen in unsustainable fisheries, clearcutters in the tropics and boreal forests, and even people working at fake sanctuaries depend on the current system of exploiting nature to provide for themselves and their families. Unfortunately, it's at the expense of other people who depend on healthy, thriving ecosystems for their livelihoods and at the expense of human well-being overall. If we want to succeed in charting a new path for our planet, we must commit to making people and communities whole. The rampant exploitation appearing on the screen in <em>Tiger King</em> isn't just of wildlife — it is also of many desperate people brutalized by a political and economic system providing few options. We're not going to successfully realign our relationship with nature if we don't provide the necessary support for people and communities to transition to more sustainable, ethical means of providing for themselves and their families.</p><p>So, watch <em>Tiger King</em> and see if for you, like me, it <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/tiger-king-coronavirus-covid-19/?bxid=5cec26573f92a45b30effa0a&cndid=52115012&esrc=Wired_etl_load&source=EDT_WIR_NEWSLETTER_0_DAILY_ZZ&utm_brand=wired&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_mailing=WIR_Daily_033120&utm_medium=email&utm_source=nl&utm_term=list1_p3" target="_blank">informs the horror of the current moment</a>, then maybe think about building a different world when we come out of this — a vibrant, natural world filled with wildlife and wonder, where we orient ourselves around preserving nature, not exploiting it, and embark on a new human journey.</p>
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A tiger looks out from its cage at a new resort and zoo in the eastern Lao town of Tha Bak on Dec. 5, 2018. Karl Ammann believes the "zoo" is really a front for selling tigers. Terrence McCoy / The Washington Post / Getty Images
Are tigers extinct in Laos?
That's the conclusion of a detailed new study that found no evidence wild tigers still exist in the country.
<p>What researchers did find during a five-year camera survey of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity" rel="noopener noreferrer">biodiversity</a>-rich Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area was evidence of snares — lots and lots of deadly snares, which are designed to trap and kill any animals that stumble across them.</p>
<p>It appears that tigers have now paid the ultimate price for the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/16/asia/southeast-asia-snaring-crisis-hnk-intl/index.html" target="_blank">snaring crisis</a> that plagues Laos and the rest of Southeast Asia.</p><p>"Snares are simple to make," said Akchousanh Rasphone, a zoologist with the Wildlife Research Conservation Unit and lead author of the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989419302392?via%3Dihub" target="_blank">study</a>. "One person can set hundreds or even thousands of snares, which kill indiscriminately and are inhumane for anything that is captured." Most animals killed in snares are destined for Asia's bushmeat markets, although tigers themselves are sought by wildlife traffickers for their valuable furs and body parts.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjE2NDEyOC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNDM1NzQxMX0.nGFp1S146iAjlVyLrzKCMTyTTUtsf92tBzCj91EQLOE/img.jpg?width=980" id="51a79" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f3583cdf33c15f6cf0de5b9f9f78213a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Illegal wildlife snares in Laos. Bill Robichaud / Global Wildlife Conservation / CC BY 2.0
<p>The loss of tigers in Laos was an avoidable, if not unexpected, tragedy. The most recent <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/tiger-populations-increasing/" target="_blank">worldwide tiger population estimates</a>, released in April 2016, put the number of tigers remaining in the country at all of two. The observation of those last two Laotian tigers came from the first year of the camera survey; they were never seen again — except, in all likelihood, by the trappers who killed them.</p><p>"Our team did what we could with our limited resources to conserve the species," said Rasphone. "We did our best despite being defeated by the high international demand in the illegal wildlife trade for this species."</p><p>Their deaths continue the <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/tigers-at-risk/" target="_blank">slow decline of the Indochinese tiger</a> (<em>Panthera tigris tigris</em>). Today their only healthy populations remain in Thailand, which at last count had about 189 wild tigers. The Indochinese tiger (previously considered its own subspecies) also persists at unsustainable levels in China (about 7 tigers), Vietnam (fewer than 5) and Myanmar (no reliable population count).</p><p>Unfortunately, the news of tigers' extirpation in Laos hasn't generated much attention in the country.</p><p>"It seemed to spark very little discussion in Laos in terms of how to move things forward with regards to preventing extirpation of more species," said Rasphone. "It occurs to me that the only thing that our government was concerned about was that the study made the country lose face, instead of taking it as a lessons learned and thinking about how not to repeat the same mistakes again for the species of conservation importance that are left."</p><p>And that's a big concern, as snaring affects a lot more than just tigers. The researchers also concluded that leopards (<em>Panthera pardus</em>) no longer exist in Laos. The species was last officially observed in the country in 2004, but conservationists had hoped that pocket populations remained in Nam Et-Phou Louey.</p><p>In addition, the researchers identified a wide range of large and small animals in snaring hotspots in Nam Et-Phou Louey, including other predators such as dhole (<em>Cuon alpinus</em>) and clouded leopards (<em>Neofelis nebulosi</em>), and all appeared to have declining populations. "Based on our recent survey, the largest prey species, guar (<em>Bos gaurus</em>), has already become quite rare," said Rasphone.</p>
<p>So is that it for tigers in Laos? Not necessarily. In theory, if the snaring crisis is ever resolved, the big cats could repopulate Laos from neighboring countries.</p><p>And Rasphone said her team still conducts surveys to find evidence "of what is and isn't there." She adds that the government wants additional surveys for both tigers and leopards, "although there isn't funding for that at the moment."</p><p>It should also be noted that captive tigers do still exist in Laos. Hundreds of genetically inbred big cats live in the country's illegal and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/tiger-farms-poaching-laos/" target="_blank">notoriously inhumane tiger farms</a>, where they're raised to be slaughtered and sold for their body parts. Laos has officially promised to shut down these facilities, which have been widely linked to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/07/wildlife-watch-news-captive-tiger-farms-trafficking-investigation-vietnam-laos/" target="_blank">illegal tiger trade</a>, but appears to have made little progress toward that purported goal. In fact, evidence suggests that the Laotian government has actually allowed existing farms to expand and <a href="https://eia-international.org/news/instead-of-closing-tiger-farms-laos-helped-them-proliferate-its-time-for-trade-sanctions/" target="_blank">the number of farms to increase</a>.</p><p>The state of the country's wild animals remains dire, and Rasphone said her team's study should serve to guide policy in Laos and other nations that still have tiger populations. "In my opinion," she said, "the message of the paper needs to be carried as a lesson to other range countries and also be interpreted locally for the conservation of the remaining populations of species of conservation importance in Laos."</p><p>With many experts calling the snaring epidemic an "extinction crisis" for Southeast Asia, the time to heed those lessons grows short.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/tigers-extinct-laos/">The Revelator</a></em><em>.</em><br/></p>
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The Indian government on Monday said its native wild tiger population has grown by more than 30% in four years thanks to bold conservation efforts.
The number of tigers in the wild rose to 2,967, up from 2,226 in 2014. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the increase as a "historic achievement."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The results of the just declared tiger census would make every Indian, every nature lover happy.<br> <br>Nine long years ago, it was decided in St. Petersburg that the target of doubling the tiger population would be 2022. We in India completed this target four years early: PM</p>— PMO India (@PMOIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/PMOIndia/status/1155694808519680000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p><br>"We reaffirm our commitment towards protecting the tiger," Modi said during the Global Tiger Day launch of a report on the native tiger population. "The result of the just-declared tiger census would make every Indian, every nature lover happy."</p><p>The government survey, which is conducted every four years, draws information about the tiger population from 26,000 camera traps.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMDQyMTUxMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5OTU5NzMyM30.VPWrGmHUIOsNjKb0WALVHvvoSmja1bwoumNS4BAuYME/img.jpg?width=980" id="47649" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e62d33b2859507435e1ec55094fac760" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
For decades, the global tiger population has been declining.
<h2>Revitalizing the Species</h2><p>India, along with other countries home to tiger populations, has increased <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/wild-tiger-numbers-on-the-rise-globally/a-19177718" target="_blank">conservation efforts</a> after the global population dropped to an all-time low of 3,200 in 2010.</p><p>"Nine years ago, it was decided in St Petersburg that the target of doubling the tiger population would be 2022," Modi said. "We, in India, completed this target four years early."</p><p>New Delhi has set aside 50 habitats exclusively for tigers spanning the Himalayan foothills to the Western Ghats. Authorities believe up to 40,000 tigers lived in the wild when India gained independence from British colonization in 1947.</p><p>The decline in the tiger population has been connected to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/poaching" rel="noopener noreferrer">poaching</a> and <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/chinas-medicinal-tiger-bones-and-rhino-horns-tradition-or-travesty/a-46193315" target="_blank">a growing taste for tiger parts in traditional medicines</a> in Asia.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/WHO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WHO</a>’s recognition of Traditional Chinese Medicine may push multiple species into further danger of extinction. Many animals used for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TCM?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TCM</a> are not protected through CITES. We must condemn the use of animal parts in traditional remedies <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ProtectOurSpecies?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ProtectOurSpecies</a> <a href="https://t.co/t98lptpS1H">https://t.co/t98lptpS1H</a></p>— Earth Day Network (@EarthDayNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/EarthDayNetwork/status/1134489715594235906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 31, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p><em>Reposed with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/indias-tiger-population-grows-to-3000-in-conservation-boost/a-49784365" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">DW</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Bengal tiger mother with 2-month-old cubs in India. Andy Rouse / Photolibrary / Getty Images Plus
Climate change may wipe out the world's only mangrove-living Bengal tiger population in just 50 years, according to a new analysis conducted by the United Nations.
<p>According to the report, extreme temperatures and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sea-level-rise" target="_self">sea level rise</a> are threatening a 4,000-square-mile diverse ecosystem known as the Sundarbans. Located in southern coastal Bangladesh, nearly three-quarters of land here is just a few feet above sea level.</p><p>"Spanning more than 10,000 square kilometers, the Sundarbans region of Bangladesh and India is the biggest mangrove forest on Earth, and also the most critical area for Bengal tiger survival," said lead-author Sharif Mukul, an assistant professor at Independent University Bangladesh, in a <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190211105400.htm" target="_blank">press release</a> earlier this year.</p><p>Researchers used framework found in two climatic scenarios as predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to compare computer simulations with current distribution data of land-use and landcover factoring in <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/extreme-weather" target="_self">extreme weather</a> events and sea-level rise. They found that climate change will have a "substantial negative impact" on habitats found in low-lying regions — and the animals that call them home.</p><p>"Our model predicts that due to the combined effect of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/climatic-change" title="Learn more about Climatic Change from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages" target="_blank">climate change</a> and sea-level rise, there will be no suitable Bengal tiger habitat remaining in the Sundarbans by 2070," wrote study authors in <em><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969719304310?via%3Dihub#!" target="_blank">Science of the Total Environment</a>.</em></p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/science/tigers-climate-change-sundarbans.html?login=google&login=google" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> notes, <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/bengal-tiger" target="_blank"><em>Panthera tigris tigris</em></a><em> </em>are among nearly 500,000 other land species that face similar survival threats. However, as human encroachment and development reduces their major habitat — paired with climate extremes and rising sea levels — Bengal tigers will likely be getting hit with a "double whammy."</p><p>The <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/" target="_blank">IPCC</a> has reported the very real impacts of human-caused climate change as greenhouse gas emission levels continue to climb beyond historic levels. In particular, tropical Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change with one of the highest rates of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/deforestation" target="_self">deforestation</a> in the world and the many endemic threatened species who call it home.</p><p>But the authors are quick to note that there is still hope.</p><p>"The more of the Sundarbans that can be conserved — via new protected areas and reducing illegal <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/poaching">poaching</a> — the more resilient it will be to future climatic extremes and rising sea levels," said study co-author Bill Laurance, adding that enhancing terrestrial protected area coverage, along with monitoring, law enforcement implementation, and building awareness among local residents may help ensure the long-term survival and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> of local tigers.</p><p>Once abundant, the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered</a> Bengal tigers are now mainly confined to small regions of India and Bangladesh with just over 2,500 left in the world. The largest predator found across the continent has seen its populations drop by 96 percent from almost 100,000 individuals at the turn of the <a href="http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0048-9697(19)30431-0/rf0145" target="_blank">20th century</a> due to habitat loss, hunting and illegal trade of tiger parts.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Biggest Issues for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Wildlife?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Wildlife</a> and Endangered Species in #2019 <a href="https://t.co/nbH3LdxRvF">https://t.co/nbH3LdxRvF</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Revelator_News?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Revelator_News</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ConservationOrg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ConservationOrg</a></p>— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) <a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/1083876261913608193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Black rhino. Gerry Zambonini / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
Great news from China! Following intense international backlash, the Chinese government said Monday that it has postponed a regulation that would have allowed the use of tiger bone and rhino horn for medicine, research and other purposes.
In October, China alarmed animal rights activists around the world when it weakened a 25-year-old ban on the trading of the animal parts. Conservationists said it would be akin to signing a "death warrant" for endangered tiger and rhino populations.
<p>
Ding Xuedong, the executive deputy secretary-general, told the state news agency
<a href="http://www.china.org.cn/china/Off_the_Wire/2018-11/12/content_71941870.htm" target="_blank">Xinhua</a> that the October regulation was "postponed after study."
</p><p>
China will continue to enforce its 1993 ban on the import, export and sale of rhinos, tigers and their byproducts, he said.
</p><p>
<span></span>"I would like to reiterate that the Chinese government has not changed its stance on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife">wildlife</a> protection and will not ease the crackdown on illegal trafficking and trade of rhinos, tigers and their byproducts and other criminal activities," Ding added.
</p><p>
The October plan would have allowed the trade of rhino horns and tiger bones from captive animals for use in medical and scientific research, education and "cultural exchanges,"
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-wildlife/china-postpones-lifting-of-ban-on-trade-of-tiger-and-rhino-parts-idUSKCN1NH0XH" target="_blank">Reuters</a> reported.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="f0566" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ZM2OHQ1576662644"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1057875432782077953" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">New #Chinese Law a ‘Death Warrant’ for Endangered #Rhinos and #Tigers https://t.co/E3dOTl9hRP</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/1057875432782077953">1541052132.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
Conservation groups say that relaxing any ban on the trade of those parts would confuse consumers and authorities on which products were legal, provide cover for black market sales, stimulate demand for the products and spur more <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/poaching">poaching</a>.
</p><p>
The are currently only 3,900 tigers and 30,000 rhinos left in the wild. The animals are threatened by poaching and habitat loss.
</p><p>
<span></span>The <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/" target="_blank">World Wildlife Fund</a> (WWF) celebrated China's reversal.
</p><p>
"WWF welcomes the news that China has postponed lifting its ban on the domestic trade in rhino horn and tiger bone, signalling a positive response to international reaction," Margaret Kinnaird, WWF's wildlife practice leader, said in a
<a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/press-releases/wwf-statement-in-response-to-china-postponing-new-regulation-on-domestic-trade-in-tiger-bone-and-rhino-horn" target="_blank">press release</a>. "Allowing trade from even captive animals could have had devastating impacts on wild rhino and tiger populations. This move helps maintain the leadership role China has taken in tackling the illegal wildlife trade and reducing market demand."
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="e9bd2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="GCMJBE1576662644"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1061962467641884677" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#Breaking: China will continue to strictly ban the use of #rhino horn and #tiger bone in medicine, and will spare n… https://t.co/JHvy0NmWCL</div> — CITES (@CITES)<a href="https://twitter.com/CITES/statuses/1061962467641884677">1542026557.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
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A young female Sumatran Tiger. Steve Wilson / CC BY 2.0
China alarmed animal rights activists around the world Monday when it weakened a 25-year-old ban on the trading of tiger bone and rhinoceros horn, the Huffington Post reported.
China said the controversial parts would now be allowed to be used for medicine and research at certified hospitals. The government further said the parts would only be sourced from farmed animals, but conservationists say that it is hard to tell whether parts come from legal farming or illegal poaching.
<p>"With this announcement, the Chinese government has signed a death warrant for imperiled rhinos and tigers in the wild who already face myriad threats to their survival," <a href="http://www.hsi.org/" target="_blank">Humane Society International</a> wildlife program and policy senior specialist Iris Ho said in a <a href="http://www.hsi.org/news/press_releases/2018/10/humane-society-international-102918.html" target="_blank">statement</a>. "It sets up what is essentially a laundering scheme for illegal tiger bone and rhino horn to enter the marketplace and further perpetuate the demand for these animal parts. This is a devastating blow to our ongoing work to save species from cruel exploitation and extinction, and we implore the Chinese government to reconsider."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="c82e3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="163CO51576662284"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1056983851237588992" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">SHOCK expressed by @HSIGlobal as #China lifts 25-year-old ban on #tiger bone and #rhino horn trade… https://t.co/Y8bj49gCde</div> — HSI United Kingdom (@HSI United Kingdom)<a href="https://twitter.com/HSIUKorg/statuses/1056983851237588992">1540839562.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>The are currently only 3,900 tigers and 30,000 rhinos left in the wild, and poaching is the greatest threat to the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a>.<br></p><p>Tiger bones and rhino horns are both valued for their use in traditional Chinese medicine, but no data has confirmed their health benefits. The World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies issued a statement in 2010 saying there was no proof that tiger bone had medicinal properties, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/29/asia/china-tiger-rhino-intl/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>. The group also removed both tiger bone and rhino horn from its list of approved treatments, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/10/wildlife-watch-news-china-rhino-tiger-legal/?utm_source=reddit.com" target="_blank">National Geographic reported</a>. </p><p>The decision also goes against China's recent attempts to improve its environmental policies through actions like <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/ivory-trade-china-banned-2521801274.html" target="_self">banning</a> its domestic <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/ivory" target="_self">ivory</a> trade at the end of 2017. </p><p>Environmentalists are not entirely sure what prompted Monday's reversal, but think it could be related to the growing number of tiger farms in the country.</p><p>"We've been concerned for a long time about the tiger farms in China and the increasing numbers of farms there," <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/" target="_blank">World Wildlife Fund</a> director of wildlife policy Leigh Henry told National Geographic. "Captive tigers are incredibly expensive to feed and care for, so as these numbers grew, so did pressure on the Chinese government to allow a regulated trade in tiger products. China's decision is what many of us have feared for over a decade."</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="216697178820079b72d94f7c0028a960"><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/unitedforthewild/photos/pcb.627269340748086/627269287414758/?type=3&theater"></div></div><p>As of 2013, the <a href="https://eia-international.org/" target="_blank">Environmental Investigation Agency</a> said there were at least several thousand tigers at hundreds of farms in the country, and reports have indicated that China is importing rhinos for farming as well.<br></p>
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Trending
Less than 400 Sumatran tigers currently exist. Steve Wilson / Flickr / CC BY 2.0
One of the world's rarest tigers was killed this week after being caught in a pig trap on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, Agence France Presse reported, citing local officials.
What's worse, the critically endangered Sumatran tiger was pregnant with two cubs when it died and was expected to give birth in two weeks, local reports said.
<p>
The death is a major setback to the species, as fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers currently exist, according to
<a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/sumatran-tiger" target="_blank">WWF estimates</a>.
</p><p>
The tigress was seen Tuesday caught in a pig trap set by a hunter in Muara Lembu village in the Riau province, AFP said. Officers immediately traveled to the site but found that the animal was missing.
</p><p>
The following day, officers searched the area again and found the tiger dead near a ravine with a wire from the trap wrapped around its body.
</p><p>
A necropsy showed that the wire had ruptured the animal's kidney and led to its death,
<a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/09/27/man-arrested-after-death-of-pregnant-sumatran-tiger.html" target="_blank">The Jakarta Post</a> reported. The tiger was approximately 3.5 to 5 years old.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="e09b4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="GGNN551576662689"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1045110604791312384" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">VIDEO: Critically endangered adult female Sumatran tiger, expected to give birth to cubs, found dead in hunter's t… https://t.co/rbIgVhwymx</div> — AFP news agency (@AFP news agency)<a href="https://twitter.com/AFP/statuses/1045110604791312384">1538008760.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
Authorities said Thursday they arrested a man—identified only as "E"—in connection with the tiger's death. He said he used the traps to catch pigs and denied killing the tiger intentionally.
</p><p>
"He admitted that he had set up several traps in various areas," the head of the Riau Natural Resources Conservation Agency told The Jakarta Post. "I told E that he was supposed to wait around the trap to prevent other animals from being harmed if he actually wanted to catch a pig. If a tiger passed by, then he should shoo it away. What would happen if it was his kid instead who was trapped?"
</p><p>
If convicted, E could face 5 years in prison and a Rp 100 million (US$6,708) fine under Indonesian law, The Jakarta Post said.
</p><p>
There are roughly 3,890 tigers remaining in the wild, according to
<a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/tiger" target="_blank">WWF</a>. As EcoWatch <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/poaching-to-palm-oil-tigers-at-risk-of-extinction-1881939942.html">previously mentioned</a>, threats faced by these iconic big cats include <a href="http://ecowatch.com/tag/poaching">poaching</a> for their pelts, illegal rainforest destruction for <a href="http://ecowatch.com/tag/palm-oil">palm oil</a> production and habitat loss due to <a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change">climate change</a>, such as coastal erosion due to sea level rise.
</p>
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Tiger: Bernard DuPont (CC BY-SA 2.0); Wolf: John and Karen Hollingsworth /USFWS
By John R. Platt
Do the species most in need of conservation also receive the most scientific research?
<p>To answer that question, a new study examined the past five years' worth of research into felids and canids—better known as wild felines and canines—and found some interesting patterns, as well as some notable omissions.</p><p>Of 4,351 published studies of the felid and canid families, 359 were devoted to tigers (<em>Panthera tigris</em>), and 579 examined gray wolves (<em>Canis lupus</em>). That's more than 21 percent of all felid and canid studies focused on just two species.</p><p>On the other side of the spectrum, some species were rarely, if ever, studied. The rusty-spotted cat (<em>Prionailurus rubiginosus</em>) received just one study between 2013 and 2017, while no published studies examined the short-eared dog (<em>Atelocynus microtis</em>) or side-striped jackal (<em>Canis adustus</em>).</p><p>The results indicate a potential research bias toward large, charismatic predators that sit at the top of the food chain, at the expense of their smaller, less dynamic relatives.</p><p>Beyond simple counts by species, other potential biases emerged: Studies of felids mainly focused on conservation and wildlife management, while canid research tended to address diseases and other health issues.</p><p>The study, published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989418301586" target="_blank">Global Ecology and Conservation</a>, was conducted by <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/2052744504_Laura_Tensen" target="_blank">Laura Tensen</a>, a postdoctoral research fellow in wildlife genetics at the University of Johannesburg. Tensen's own research focuses on lions, leopard and African wild dogs, so she went into the study concerned about her own approaches. "The species that I have studied are in fact charismatic, which was part of the reason I wrote this article—perhaps to self-reflect my own research bias," she said.</p><p>Two other observations inspired the paper: Tensen had found a lack of scientific information on some species, while others had a number of seemingly repetitive studies. "I noticed a lot of redundancy in science, where certain topics have been studied repeatedly," she said. For example, her paper found that most conservation studies focused on population estimates and human-wildlife conflict, while only 1 percent of all studies tackled climate change or the illegal wildlife trade.</p><p>Crunching the numbers didn't result in any real surprises—Tensen cites earlier studies that came to similar conclusions—but she hopes putting the results into clear statistics and graphs will have an impact on how future research is conducted. Researchers might, for example, decide to focus their work on species that are understudied, taxonomically unique, endangered or which live in small geographic ranges.</p><p>"Ideally, researchers should take these factors into consideration and challenge themselves to broaden their horizon," Tensen said. "In reality, however, it is more difficult to get funding for elusive and endangered species that are not commonly known by the bigger audience."</p><p>Toward that point, Luke Hunter, chief conservation officer at <a href="http://www.panthera.org/" target="_blank">Panthera</a>, the global wild cat conservation organization, said the main value of Tensen's paper is that it illustrates which species are not getting studied, notably small carnivores such as the rusty-spotted cat.</p><p>"I think there is terrific value in launching new research on such unknown species," Hunter said. "It provides the fundamental data that helps better understand how to conserve them, but they also represent a great opportunity to do basic science. One would think that prospect, with the possibility of writing seminal papers on previously unknown carnivores, would be a massive beacon to researchers—especially those in academia, who are the main audience for Tensen's paper."</p><p>Tensen said she's making that switch a bit herself. "I would personally very much like to move to the 'underdogs,' and I have recently started projects with black-backed jackals, caracals and black-footed cats," she said. "However, I can't deny that large carnivores fascinate me and I would never turn such projects down."</p><p>In fact, Tensen acknowledges, the appeal of large carnivores such as tigers and wolves—which her paper points out are often studied specifically because of their important ecological roles—helps research to get funded and therefore helps broader conservation issues. "Large and charismatic species are often targeted by conservation initiatives, which motivates research as well," she said. "This doesn't have to be a bad thing, because at least it helps to conserve nature."</p><p>Hunter added that we can study both types of creatures. "It's not a zero-sum game," he said. "We need more conservation-focused science on many of the well-studied larger species in decline, such as African wild dogs, lions and tigers. These charismatic and endangered species will always attract researchers, and so they should. My hope is that we see a growth in research, especially in applied work that helps design effective conservation actions, on all carnivores."</p><p>Meanwhile, researchers aren't the only ones with biases. I asked Tensen if I should feel guilty knowing that The Revelator's own home page frequent features charismatic species such as wolves and tigers.</p><p>"Don't feel bad at all," Tensen replied. "My desk is covered with wild dog and tiger pictures, so that makes me as guilty."</p><p> <em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://therevelator.org/tigers-wolves-conservation/" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>.</em><em></em></p>
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A tiger in Dhikala, Nepal. Ranjith Kumar 2016 / CC BY-SA 4.0
Thanks to dedicated conservation efforts, Nepal now has an estimated 235 wild tigers in the country, a nearly twofold increase from its baseline of 121 individuals in 2009, the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) announced Sunday on the occasion of Nepal's National Conservation Day.
The South Asian nation is now on track to become the first country to double its tiger population as part of WWF's "TX2" goal to double the world's wild tiger population by 2022—the next year of the tiger on the Chinese zodiac.
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The news was celebrated by environmentalists including actor <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/leonardo-dicaprio">Leonardo DiCaprio</a>, who is a WWF-US board member. His <a href="https://www.leonardodicaprio.org/" target="_blank">foundation</a> has funded tiger conservation in Nepal's Bardia National Park and elsewhere since 2010.
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"This significant increase in Nepal's tiger population is proof that when we work together, we can save the planet's wildlife—even species facing extinction," DiCaprio stated in a press release received by EcoWatch. "Nepal has been a leader in efforts to double tigers within its own borders and serves as a model for conservation for all of Asia and the world. I am proud of my foundation's partnership with WWF to support Nepal and local communities in doubling the population of wild tigers."
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</p><div id="a6e0c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7PZKVJ1576683797"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1043945736356925440" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">I am proud of @dicapriofdn’s partnership with @World_Wildlife to support Nepal and local communities in doubling th… https://t.co/2Qs8iRqkoV</div> — Leonardo DiCaprio (@Leonardo DiCaprio)<a href="https://twitter.com/LeoDiCaprio/statuses/1043945736356925440">1537731033.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Due to years of illegal poaching and habitat loss, <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/tiger" target="_blank">there are roughly</a> 3,890 of the iconic big cats roaming the planet today, a dramatic decline from the 100,000 about a century ago, according to WWF. As top predators, they are crucial to the ecosystems they inhabit.
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<span></span>"Every tiger counts, for Nepal and for the world," WWF-Nepal's Ghana S. Gurung stated in a press release received by EcoWatch. "While Nepal is but a few tigers away from our goal to double tiger numbers by 2022, it also underscores the continued need to ensure protection, and improved and contiguous habitats for the long-term survival of the species."
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Under the TX2 goal set at the 2010 St. Petersburg summit, all 13 tiger range countries—Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam—pledged to increase the number of wild tigers in the world to more than 6,000 by 2022.
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"With four more years to go, the TX2 goal of doubling tiger numbers globally can only be achieved if all the tiger range countries step up and commit to a similar level of [Nepal's] excellence," WWF said.
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To estimate its tiger population, Nepal conducted surveys between November 2017 and April 2018 by using camera traps and other techniques. The last survey in 2013 counted 198 tigers.
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODY1MjQ5MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MjYxMjQ5N30.k-HMAymde-zilG1dZWL4saf-M4Y_TDYalfT2ui8BWPg/img.jpg?width=980" id="e2815" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c417ff0581e132acc0ef20f98c260120" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Camera traps were used to survey Nepal's wild tiger numbers.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">DNPWC/WWF Nepal </small></p><p>
Nepal's success story can be attributed to its political commitment towards tiger conservation. For one, Nepal was the first country to achieve global standards in managing tiger conservation areas, an accreditation scheme governed by the Conservation Assured Tiger Standards, according to WWF.
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"Protecting tigers is a top priority of the government, and we are thankful for the able support of our partners, enforcement agencies, local communities and the international community for a common purpose," Bishwa Nath Oli, secretary of Nepal's Ministry of Forests and Environment, stated in the press release.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="4809c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="TRPKTS1576683797"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="958895199702474758" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">New Sightings of 'Putin's Tigers' Are Good News for Conservation in Russia https://t.co/kRv066FbyG @environmentca @ConservationOrg</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/958895199702474758">1517453405.0</a></blockquote></div>
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