In order to protect and increase wild tiger population, nearly one million acres of protected habitat in India and Bhutan will be covered under a new private conservation efforts.
The ‘Project C.A.T — Conserving acres for Tigers’ by Discovery Communications and NGO World Wildlife Fund (WWF) aims to conserve the wild tiger population, which has dropped by 96 per cent in the last century alone to only 4,000 left in the wild due to habitat loss and pervasive poaching.
“The global movement to protect tigers just got one million acres stronger. For more than 30 years we have had cameras in every corner of the globe, from ‘Planet Earth’ to ‘Racing Extinction’ documenting and inspiring audiences about the beauty and splendor of our planet. Unfortunately, our cameras also have captured the fragile state of much of the world and its animals.
“So today we take a bold step further, beyond the lens, to protect one of our most iconic and endangered species. We will not let these beautiful animals disappear from the world.
“We will shine a light on this compelling cause and amplify it through our global brands and platforms with the goal of doubling the wild tiger population by 2022,” said David Zaslav, president and CEO of Discovery Communications after making the announcement.
This trans-boundary partnership will allow rangers to more closely monitor tiger health and other key scientific data, take additional anti-poaching safeguards, and maintain land and corridors to improve movement of all wild animals.
Discovery will also leverage its formidable creative capabilities and global multiplatform distribution of channels to 3 billion cumulative worldwide viewers to support WWF’s Tx2 effort, which began in 2010, to double the population of wild tigers across the world by 2022.
Reinforcing its commitment, Discovery has also put into development a new documentary on tigers from Academy award nominated producers Orlando von Einsiedel’s Grain Media which will be aired globally in 2018.
On the other hand, WWF’s efforts include conservation of additional tiger sites, across all 13 tiger range countries, with rigorous scientific analysis and monitoring of tigers and their prey, as well as advocating for and raising awareness of tiger conservation and eliminating illegal wildlife trade around the world.
“Tiger populations are rising for the first time in a century. These numbers reflect the extraordinary commitment of regional leaders and leading philanthropists to double the population of tigers in the wild.
“We need even more of a movement to accomplish these goals. Discovery’s devotion to conservation and impressive reach can only inspire others to join the cause,” said Carter Roberts, president and CEO of World Wildlife Fund (WWF). - PTI
