Tigers Get a Business Plan

Conservationists across Asia may soon be seeing stripes—black and orange ones—thanks to an ambitious new business plan for increasing tiger numbers by 50 percent over the next ten years. For the past few decades, in places like India’s Nagarahole National Park and the Russian Far East, tiger specialists have worked hard to curb poaching, educate local communities, and conserve threatened habitat on the behalf of holdout tiger populations. As a testament to the conservationists’ efforts, the big cats under their guardianship have rebounded. The latest initiative, Tigers Forever, aims to boost the collective number of 800 tigers that reside in a dozen key WCS field sites to approximately 1,200 cats.

Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, who directs WCS big cat programs, notes that the goal of reaching specific numbers over a specific time period is a new concept for conservationists. “We’re putting our reputations on the line and holding ourselves accountable that we can grow tiger numbers,” said Rabinowitz. “At the same time, we have the knowledge, expertise, and track record to accomplish this goal.”

Tigers Forever outlines a plan to work closely with local governments and other partners to gain baseline knowledge on tigers in places like Myanmar’s Hukawng Valley—the world’s largest tiger reserve—while stepping up anti-poaching activities in other sites, including Thailand’s Huai Kha Khaeng and Thung Yai protected areas. Due to limitations such as regional stability and habitat encroachment, tiger numbers are not expected to increase uniformly. For example, Siberian tigers in the Russian Far East may not increase from their current estimated population of 500 animals. However, India’s highly productive Western Ghats region may see an increase by as much as 60 percent. And sites in Laos and Cambodia, which may be home to small groups of ten individuals or fewer, could see tiger numbers jump four-fold over the next decade. The total number of tigers remains a mystery, though some scientists believe that perhaps 3,000­­­–5,000 remain in the wild.

Panthera, a private foundation dedicated to the conservation of tigers, lions, jaguars, and other cat species around the world, has teamed up with WCS to launch Tigers Forever. The Panthera project, in full collaboration with WCS, will fund population monitoring, specific site interventions, and overall management. “Panthera is pleased to join with Alan and WCS in a project that challenges the conventional wisdom in tiger conservation. If Panthera and WCS succeed with Tigers Forever, not only will our collaboration have taken a great stride in protecting this iconic species, but we will be inaugurating a new paradigm in big cat conservation. . . one which we shall seek to apply more generally to our global felids programs,” said Executive Chairman and Panthera founder, Thomas Kaplan.

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