The Hindu : Front Page : Survival stakes for the tigers

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Saturday, Jul 22, 2006

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Survival stakes for the tigers

James Randerson

The area occupied by them is smaller by 41 per cent than it was 10 years ago

London: Tigers, among the planet's most iconic and secretive creatures, have been near the top of the endangered list for some time. But on Thursday, a landmark study by leading conservationists warned that their plight is even more serious than previously feared.

The area occupied by tigers is 41 per cent smaller than 10 years ago and is just 7 per cent of its historical "range" before habitat loss and hunting slashed its numbers, according to scientists at the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York, the World Wildlife Fund and the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington. Tigers once ranged across Asia from eastern Turkey to the Russian Far East.

In India, where 60 per cent of the world's tigers live, the population fell from 100,000 in the 19th century to 3,600 now. Many researchers believe the true figure is less than half the official estimate.

"The current trajectory will surely cause wild populations to disappear in many places, or shrink to the point of 'ecological extinction' — where their numbers are too few to play their role as the top predator," the authors write. This grim prediction will come true in 20 years unless urgent action is taken.

The study, paid for by the Save the Tiger Fund, identifies 76 places with habitat that has the best chance of supporting viable tiger populations.

The data take into account whether habitat that has become fragmented would be big enough to support a tiger population. The cats are reluctant to cross open areas and so need well-connected forest. Also, it takes into account whether heavy poaching of tigers' prey means there would not be enough food for females to raise cubs.

"The last decade has been catastrophic for tigers and they simply can't afford another one like that," said Eric Dinerstein, chief scientist with WWF and one of the study's authors. But the news is not all bad.

Tigers breed quickly for a large mammal and do not require pristine habitat, so preventing poaching can lead to rapid recovery.

A tiger skin can fetch more than £5,000 and the penises, used in traditional Chinese medicine, are worth £14,000 a kilo. Criminal gangs with links to drugs and arms trading smuggle tiger parts from India to China and Tibet. Skins are also traded to collectors in the west.

The authors of the report, `Setting Priorities for the Conservation and Recovery of Wild Tigers 2005-2015', advocate a "tiger summit", involving the heads of state of the 13 countries which still host the species.

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

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