Tiger conservation works to stop tigers from disappearing forever. It also helps protect their natural homes. This is a major goal for groups around the world that work to protect animals. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has helped improve international efforts to save tigers.
CITES
CITES is an international organization that uses methods and actions to help protect wildlife. One way CITES helps protect tigers is by banning the trade of tigers or parts from tigers. Countries that join CITES agree to follow this rule. Once a country signs and follows CITES, it stops the trade of tigers within its own borders.
The CITES Secretariat is managed by UNEP, which works with groups like TRAFFIC to help countries follow CITES rules. Countries receive training and information about what they need to do, and their progress and whether they follow the rules are checked regularly.
For CITES to work well, it needs help from governments, organizations, and people in countries where tigers live. These countries, called Tiger Range Countries (TRC), include places where tigers still live. North Korea is listed as a TRC but has not joined CITES.
The 13 TRC countries that are part of CITES recently met in Russia and promised to double the number of tigers living in the wild, which is estimated to be about 3,200. However, poaching remains a major problem in all 13 TRC countries, even though they follow CITES rules.
At the 15th CITES meeting in Doha, Qatar in March 2010, all members agreed to stronger rules to protect tigers. However, the United Nations warned that tigers are still in danger of becoming extinct because some countries are not taking strong action to stop the illegal trade of tigers and tiger parts.
Although CITES has helped reduce illegal tiger trade, it depends on countries to follow its rules. How well countries follow these rules varies. For example, Thailand follows CITES rules well, but illegal tiger trade is still common there. CITES cannot stop problems like poaching without full cooperation from all groups, including governments.
Another reason CITES may not be working well is that the illegal tiger trade is very profitable. The World Bank estimates that the illegal wildlife trade is worth about $10 billion each year. Selling one tiger skeleton can earn a poacher as much money as a worker might earn in ten years.
A report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature found that wild tiger numbers are 40% higher than earlier estimates, with between 3,726 and 5,578 tigers believed to live in the wild. However, tiger numbers have dropped quickly in Malaysia, and tigers are likely gone from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.
India
Project Tiger began in 1973 as a major effort to protect tigers and their habitats in India. At the start of the 20th century, one estimate said there were about 40,000 tigers in India. However, a tiger census in 1972 found only 1,827 tigers. Over the second half of the 20th century, many challenges, such as loss of natural areas, harmed tiger habitats. At an IUCN meeting in Delhi in 1969, people expressed serious worry about the dangers to wildlife and the shrinking of natural areas due to poaching. In 1970, a national law banning tiger hunting was introduced, and in 1972, the Wildlife Protection Act was passed. These steps helped create a plan to protect tigers using an environmental approach.
Project Tiger focuses on conserving tigers in specially created tiger reserves, which represent different areas of India. The goal is to keep healthy tiger populations in their natural homes. As of 2019, there are 50 tiger reserves in India, covering 37,761 square kilometers.
At the Kalachakra Tibetan Buddhist festival in India in January 2006, the Dalai Lama spoke against using, selling, or buying wild animals, their products, or parts. After Tibetan pilgrims returned to Tibet, many destroyed wild animal skins, including tiger and leopard skins used as clothing.
In 2010, India signed an agreement with 12 other countries that have tigers to double tiger numbers by 2022. A tiger census in 2014 showed 2,226 tigers, a large increase from the lowest count of 1,411 in 2006 and about a 30% rise from 2011 numbers. A full survey in 2018 found 2,962 tigers, a 33% increase from 2014 numbers. However, some experts say the growing numbers should be viewed carefully.
China
In the early 1950s, China started large efforts to control pests, which led to the destruction of tiger habitats due to deforestation and the movement of people to rural areas. These people hunted tigers and their prey. Although hunting tigers was banned in 1977, their numbers kept dropping, and tigers are now considered extinct in southern China since 2001. In northeastern China’s Hunchun National Nature Reserve, camera traps found a tiger with four cubs for the first time in 2012. Later surveys showed between 27 and 34 tigers living near the China–Russia border.
In the early 1970s, China did not support environmental efforts led by Western countries, believing these efforts limited the use of its natural resources. However, by the 1980s, China wanted better trade relations with Western nations and joined the CITES treaty in 1981. This helped groups like Project Tiger, supported by the United Nations and the World Bank, work to protect tigers. In 1988, China passed the Law on the Protection of Wildlife, making tigers a top priority for protection. In 1993, China banned the trade of tiger parts, which reduced the number of tiger bones taken for traditional medicine.
In 2008, a British newspaper reported illegal sales of tiger bones from protected areas. In 2018, China proposed allowing farmed tiger bones for medical use, which caused international criticism. Though the plan was delayed, it was not canceled. On October 25, 2018, a 25-year ban on using rhino horn and tiger parts was lifted.
Despite strong laws in the 1990s that reduced the tiger bone trade, the Tibetan people’s use of tiger pelts became a major threat. As wealth increased in Tibetan areas, people began wearing traditional robes decorated with tiger, otter, and leopard fur. These items became symbols of beauty and were even required at weddings, with families competing to own larger pelts.
In 2003, Chinese officials in Tibet found 31 tigers, 581 leopards, and 778 otters being smuggled, which would have earned $10,000, $850, and $250, respectively, if sold in Lhasa. By 2004, groups like the World Wide Fund for Nature and Conservation International worked to stop the trade through campaigns. In 2005, undercover teams filmed evidence of illegal activities in Tibet and shared it with Chinese officials. That same year, conservation groups asked the Dalai Lama about the trade, and he responded in a way that seemed confused and defensive.
In 2017, China created the world’s largest protected area, the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, covering over 14,612 square kilometers near the borders of Russia and North Korea. During the park’s planning phase, industries, farms, and hunting equipment were removed, and wildlife habitats were restored. However, researchers believe the park may not have enough space to support a long-term Siberian tiger population.
Other areas
In Vietnam, forest cover is now less than 15% of what it was before the 1940s. This reduction is due to warfare, illegal logging, and slash-and-burn farming. Tigers have been legally protected in Vietnam since 1960. However, the trade of tiger body parts continued until the mid-1990s. Tigers were still found in northern Vietnam near the border with China in the 1990s. By 2015, this tiger population was considered possibly extinct.
In Laos, surveys between 2013 and 2017 found 14 tigers in semi-evergreen and evergreen forests mixed with grasslands in the Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area. In Sumatra, tigers live in lowland peat swamp forests and rugged mountain forests. The tiger population in Laos had already declined significantly by 1993, when National Biodiversity Conservation Areas were created. By the late 1990s, tigers were still present in at least five conservation areas. Hunting for illegal trade of tiger body parts and hunting of prey species were the main threats to tigers in Laos. Between April 2003 and June 2004, five tigers were recorded in the Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area. Large wild prey species were rare, so tigers hunted small prey and livestock, which may have harmed their ability to reproduce.
In Cambodia, tigers were seen in remote forests in the mid-1980s. Protected areas were established in 1993, but large areas of forest outside these regions were given to foreign companies for logging. In 1998, hunters confirmed tiger presence in the Cardamom and Dâmrei Mountains. Surveys from 1999 to 2007 across nine protected areas and over 300 locations found tigers only in the Mondulkiri Protected Forest and Virachey National Park. This showed the tiger population was extremely small. By 2015, it was considered possibly extinct.
In Thailand, 81 national parks, 39 wildlife sanctuaries, and 49 non-hunting areas were created between 1962 and 1996, including 12 protected areas larger than 1,000 km². Logging was banned in 1989. Despite this, tiger surveys between 2004 and 2007 found tigers in 10 of 17 protected area complexes. Tiger numbers were lower than expected based on available forest habitat.
In Myanmar, tigers were limited to the Tanintharyi Region and Hukaung Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in 2006. The country has two tiger populations: Bengal and Indochinese tigers. In 1996, 60% of tigers were Bengal and 40% were Indochinese. The natural boundary between these populations is thought to be the Irrawaddy River, but this has not been scientifically proven. DNA studies are needed to confirm this. Today, tigers are confirmed in the Hukawng Valley, Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary, and two small areas in the Tanintharyi Region. The Tenasserim Hills is an important area, but its forests are being harvested. In 2015, camera traps recorded tigers for the first time in the hill forests of Kayin State.
In Peninsular Malaysia, tigers are found only in four protected areas larger than 400 km². The last tiger in Singapore was shot on October 26, 1930, in Choa Chu Kang Village.
Conservation organisations
One of the biggest threats to tiger populations is broken-up habitats. A program called the Terai-Arc Landscape (TAL) works to improve tiger habitats, especially those that are broken up in Nepal and northern India. Their main strategy is to connect small groups of tigers that have been separated by creating special tiger corridors. These corridors help tigers move between areas, allowing them to find other tigers. This helps tigers mate with more individuals, which increases the variety of genes in their population. A larger gene pool can lead to more diversity, more babies being born, and more tiger cubs surviving.
Panthera is a conservation group that focuses on protecting wild cats, including tigers, lions, snow leopards, and jaguars. In July 2006, Panthera worked with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) to start a project called Tigers Forever. This project aims to increase the number of tigers in key areas by 50% over ten years. Key areas include India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, and Indonesia. This project is experimental and tries to grow tiger numbers by reducing human threats and monitoring tiger and prey populations. To achieve this, Panthera is improving law enforcement in these areas and working with informants to catch poachers. Another project led by Panthera is the Tiger Corridor Initiative (TCI). Human development in Tiger Range Countries (TRC) has caused tiger habitats to become broken up. This division of tiger populations reduces the variety of genes and makes it harder for tigers to reproduce. The TCI is similar to the Terai-Arc Landscape (TAL) project and plans to connect protected tiger groups using corridors that allow tigers to move safely. This should help tiger populations grow and increase genetic diversity.
Another group working to save tigers is the Save the Tiger Fund (STF). The STF was started in 1995 by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and focuses on protecting wild tigers. The STF has given over $10.6 million and taken part in 196 conservation efforts that help reduce conflicts between humans and tigers, protect tiger habitats, study tiger behavior, monitor tiger numbers, and teach local people about saving tigers. The STF also gives money through a grant program, providing 33,600 grants totaling $1,700.3 billion to tiger range countries (TRC) to protect tiger populations. ExxonMobil is the largest donor to the STF, giving nearly $12 million from 1995 to 2004. Today, the STF works with Panthera through the STF-Panthera Partnership to combine their efforts in tiger conservation.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) also helps save tigers. They set a big goal called Tx2 to double the number of wild tigers by 2022, the next Chinese Year of the Tiger. To reach this goal, the WWF focuses on protecting areas where tigers have the best chance to survive and grow, stopping poaching, and reducing the demand for tiger parts. Much of the money for this project comes from a partnership between the WWF and Leonardo DiCaprio called Save Tigers Now. This group helps raise money to support the WWF’s Tx2 goal. In 2010, during the Year of the Tiger, a meeting called the International Tiger Conservation Forum was held in Russia to discuss saving tigers. This meeting led to $127 million in contributions from governments to support tiger conservation and an agreement for all 13 Tiger Range Countries to join the Global Tiger Recovery Program for the next five years.
The Global Tiger Initiative (GTI) is a group of governments formed in June 2008 to save wild tigers from extinction. Among its efforts, the GTI created the Global Tiger Recovery Program (GRTP) to help reach the goal of doubling the number of wild tigers. The GRTP focuses on managing and restoring tiger habitats, stopping poaching and illegal trade of tigers and their parts, working with communities, and helping tigers return to areas they once lived.
WildTeam uses a social marketing method to create community-based solutions that help save tigers in the Sundarbans of India. WildTeam has developed a system of volunteer village teams that rescue tigers that enter villages and reduce conflicts between humans and tigers.
Data collection techniques
Data collection is necessary to determine where conservation efforts and resources should be focused. To gather this information, methods such as radio collars and capture-recapture population models are used to count tiger numbers. One basic method is called "tiger searching," which involves riding elephants or driving off-road vehicles into tiger habitats to identify individuals and their locations. During these searches, the pugmark census technique is also used. This method includes observing paw prints in the ground and measuring their width, length, and depth to help identify which tiger was present. Dogs are sometimes used to help track tigers by their scent. Once tigers are located, researchers take photographs, make drawings, and record details such as the tiger's sex, location, and other observations. These records are then sent to the study camp. Some reserves allow professional guides to lead tourists on elephant rides, and if tigers are spotted along the trails, the sightings are documented.
Another method, called "camera traps," uses motion-sensitive cameras that automatically take several pictures when movement is detected. Although camera traps are expensive and require trained individuals to operate, they are becoming more widely used in tiger research because they provide accurate data. Capture-recapture models are now often used with tiger tracking methods. These models not only count tiger populations but also collect information about the population, such as age and gender. This combined approach uses camera traps and basic tiger searches to collect enough data. Once researchers understand the population size and characteristics, conservation efforts begin. The choice of areas to focus on depends on factors like the size of the protected area, the level of biodiversity, the number of tigers present, the area's connection to buffer zones, available funding, and public and local community support. These factors are important in conservation planning, and public and community support has been shown to be a major influence on the success or failure of conservation projects.
Rewilding and reintroduction projects
In 1978, an Indian conservationist named Billy Arjan Singh tried to release a tigress born in captivity back into the wild at Dudhwa National Park. Soon after, several people were killed by a tigress, which was later shot. Officials said the tiger was named Tara, but Singh disagreed. Later, it was discovered that Tara had some Siberian tiger ancestry. Tigers were reintroduced to Sariska Tiger Reserve in 2008 and to Panna Tiger Reserve in 2009.
The group Save China's Tigers has worked to reintroduce South China tigers to the wild. They started a breeding and training program at a reserve in South Africa called Laohu Valley Reserve (LVR) and plan to eventually release the tigers back into China.
A future project aims to reintroduce Siberian tigers to northern Russia’s Pleistocene Park. Siberian tigers sent to Iran for a breeding program in Tehran are expected to be released into the wild in the Miankaleh peninsula to replace the extinct Caspian tigers.