Efforts to Save Endangered Tigers Are Working

By J.R. Pegg

WASHINGTON, DC, November 21, 2002 (ENS) - Wild tigers still face serious threats from habitat loss and poaching, but international efforts to protect the endangered species from extinction in the wild are succeeding, according to a new report from the Save the Tiger Fund.

The report, issued today by the Fund at a press briefing at the National Press Club, details how the group's investments have helped stabilized some tiger populations and paved the way for further success.

Tiger (Photos courtesy Save the Tiger Fund except where noted)

Although many of the experts who spoke today believe that prediction was overblown, no one disputes that wild tiger populations were, and still are, in grave danger. At the beginning of the 20th century, more than 100,000 tigers roamed free, but today less than 7,500 tigers remain in the wild.

"The tiger is still highly endangered, but we can celebrate that there are still wild tigers," said John Seidensticker, chairman of the Save the Tiger Fund and senior curator with the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, DC.

Habitat loss, shrinking numbers of prey animals, and poaching are responsible for putting the tiger on the endangered species list, and these threats remain. The good news, however, is that international programs like the Save the Tiger Fund are making headway, according to Ginette Hemley, vice president for species conservation and managing vice president of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

"The species has overcome long odds, and the dire predictions of a decade ago have not come true," Hemley said. "The Save the Tiger Fund is truly an effective model for conservation, and it has enabled conservationists to begin to think long term about efforts to protect tigers."

"It embodies a new way of approaching conservation of all species," added Whitney Tilt, director of conservation and evaluation at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF).

Established in 1995, the Save the Tiger Fund is an international program founded by NFWF and the ExxonMobil Foundation to support international tiger conservation projects.

In 2002, the Fund awarded 38 grants totaling some $1.3 million. It has provided some $10 million since its inception to support 196 conservation projects throughout 13 of the 14 countries in Asia where tigers survive in the wild.

"The Save the Tiger Fund has exceeded my highest expectations and this is not because of what we've done," said Edward Ahnert, president of the ExxonMobil Foundation. "We've been there to empower others. They are the ones who deserve the credit."

The new report, "Save the Tiger Fund: A Model for Success," analyzes the first seven years of the Fund and how its investments have helped tiger conservation programs in the areas of field research, habitat protection, anti-poaching efforts, public education and zoo breeding programs in Asia, Europe and the United States.

Indigenous anti-poaching patrol protects Siberian tigers in Russia's Far East (Photo by D. Higgs courtesy Wild Aid)

Money from the Fund has helped researchers gather better scientific data on tiger populations according to K. Ullas Karanth, a conservation zoologist with the Bronx Zoo based Wildlife Conservation Society and director of that organization's India Program.

"Without this crucial support, we would have just been spinning our wheels," he said today.

Karanth credits increased understanding of the different needs of tigers in different habitats as a key reason for stabilization of several tiger populations in India. Successful conservation, he said, "must address the real needs of the animal."

Some 7,500 tigers remain in the wild.

"The scientist is the auditor," said Karanth. "It is the science that tells you if your efforts are working, and it can transcend the passion of the moment. But scientists can't save tigers."

Saving tigers requires a comprehensive effort that must include a range of players, from national governments to local individuals, he said.

New projects supported by the Fund indicate that this lesson is at the core of its efforts. One new project will continue support of habitat restoration and community development efforts in the buffer zone surrounding Nepal's Royal Bardia National Park. The project includes working with local communities to develop alternative income sources, as well as fence and restore some 500 hectares in community managed forests.

Sarita Jnawali, senior women's development officer at the King Mahendrat Trust for Nature Conservation in Nepal, today said that these integrated models are critical for tiger conservation.

"Efforts simply won't succeed without the involvement of local people," Jnawali said.

Tiger skin is confiscated by conservation patrol to remove the financial reward of poaching. (Photo courtesy Wild Aid)

Galster has spearheaded several efforts to curtail poaching, often by turning poachers into watchdogs. He launched an anti-poaching brigade in 1994 to help stabilize the Siberian tiger population and in 1997, with support from the Fund, established a Russian nongovernmental organization called Phoenix to continue the effort. Currently Galster is using working in Southeast Asia on similar tiger conservation programs.

"We've got good traction," Galster said, "but we aren't out of the woods yet. The biggest challenge ahead is a sustained effort to reduce consumption in China."

Continued use of tiger parts for traditional Chinese medicine is a serious threat to tigers, even as reports of the animal's extinction in Southeast China continue to surface.

John Seidensticker, Ph.D., is senior curator and curator of mammals at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park He serves as chairman of the Save the Tiger Fund Council. (Photo by Susan Lumpkin courtesy John Seidensticker)

Quite simply, Seidensticker said, "people are the key to saving wild tigers."

Changing human practices and behavior to allow tigers the habitat and protection they need is a massive challenge challenge, he added, but one the Fund and its supporters believe they can help overcome.

"There is something special about tigers that touches everyone," Seidensticker said. "Tigers are the symbols of freedom and of nature untouched, but tigers can be lost in a heartbeat. This process is ongoing and the Save the Tiger Fund is in this for the long haul."