Tigers are on the verge of extinction. Illegal hunting, climate change, and habitat loss coupled with a lack of appropriate conservation efforts have all contributed to the steady decline of these iconic cats over the last few decades.
Now this year, in honor of 2010 being the Chinese Year of the Tiger and the International Year of Biodiversity, world leaders of tiger states are finally getting together in to discuss the problem at the Tiger Summit in Russia.
New research on declining tiger populations highlights the importance of targeting conservation efforts at “source sites” -- regions with existing wild tiger communities that have the greatest potential to grow.
In a new article published in the journal PLoS Biology, a team of scientists identified 42 tiger source sites (a few are shown in green on the map to the right), the majority of which are concentrated in India, Sumatra and the Russian Far East. These sites, “contain almost 70 percent of all remaining wild tigers [and] so have a disproportionate importance to the survival and recovery of the species,” the study authors wrote.
There are currently fewer than 3,500 tigers living in the wild and approximately 1,000 are likely to be breeding females. The selected source sites single out tiger populations with at least 25 percent breeding females.
In addition to identifying source sites, the researchers addressed how exactly the sites should be managed. The most important issue is constant monitoring.
The Russian Far East was once a stronghold for tigers. But when the region started downsizing its monitoring program, the numbers of tigers plummeted. Without protection, tigers and their prey are vulnerable to poaching.
It won't be cheap: scientists estimate that the average costs of protecting and monitoring all 42 source sites will be $82 million per year. But given the importance of global biodiversity and the role that these majestic animals play in cultures throughout Asia, it's hard to put a price tag on saving tigers.
Images: (1) Julie Larsen Maher, Wildlife Conservation Society; (2) Wildlife Conservation Society
Tags: Animals, Cats, Wildlife Conservation
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