By New Scientist
and Press Association
Nitish Madan / WWF-International / PA
Tiger numbers are increasing across five of the countries where the endangered big cat is found, conservationists have said.
The number of wild tigers is on the increase in Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Russia, a decade on from the launch of an ambitious scheme to double the population of the species.
The TX2 initiative was launched in 2010 when it was estimated that wild populations of the cat were at a historic low, with as few as 3200 animals remaining across the 13 countries where they are found. The scheme aims to double the number of tigers in the wild by 2022.
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In India, the number of wild tigers in 2018 is estimated to have been at between 2600 and 3350 animals – around three-quarters of the world’s population, and more than double the number in 2006.
Nepal’s population of tigers had nearly doubled by 2018, up from 121 individuals in 2009 to 235.
The population in Nepal’s Bardiya National Park alone has increased from just 18 tigers in 2008 to 87 in 2018, conservation charity WWF said.
In Russia, Amur tiger numbers have increased by 15 per cent in the past 10 years to around 540 animals, and in Bhutan’s Royal Manas National Park, the population rose from only 10 tigers a decade ago to 22 in 2019.
In 2010, China had no more than 20 wild tigers, most of which had crossed the border from Russia. The country recorded a landmark moment in 2014 when camera traps captured footage of a tigress and her cubs in Wangqing Nature Reserve in Jilin province, indicating that tigers were breeding in China again and dispersing into new areas.
Becci May at WWF UK, said: “Ten years ago, tigers were in such a perilous state that there was a very real risk of them becoming extinct in the wild. From that population low in 2010, they are finally making a remarkable comeback in much of South Asia, Russia and China, thanks to coordinated and concerted conservation efforts in these countries.”
“This is an achievement that not only offers a future for tigers in the wild, but for the landscapes they inhabit and the communities living alongside this iconic big cat,” she said.
There are still only about 3900 tigers in the wild. They are under threat from poaching for the illegal wildlife trade, and the destruction and breaking up of their habitat across much of their range, WWF said.
The key to helping wild tiger populations recover is to focus on conserving landscapes where they can thrive and ensuring communities in these wildlife-rich areas are supported and included in conservation, the organisation said.
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