(news.com.au) — AT LONG last it looks like tiger conservation efforts are paying off. For the first time in a century the global population of wild tigers has increased.
A global census has revealed that tiger numbers have risen from an all-time low of 3200 in 2012 to an estimated 3890. The census was compiled from national tiger surveys as well as the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Conservation efforts in Russia, India, Nepal and Bhutan have been credited with the rise in numbers.
In 2010 the 13 remaining tiger range countries set an ambitious conservation goal; to double the number of wild tigers by 2022. While this goal is still a long way off, this increase marks a definite turnaround for the critically endangered species.
WWF International director general Marco Lambertini said: “For the first time after decades of constant decline, tiger numbers are on the rise. This offers us great hope and shows that we can save species and their habitats when governments, local communities and conservationists work together.”
Despite this much needed good news, the reality is tiger conservation still remains a struggle for other Southeast Asian countries.
Deforestation, habit loss, and poaching — the biggest threats to the species — are still rampant among many countries.
Just last week Cambodia declared the animal functionally extinct within their borders, meaning that there are no breeding tigers left in the wild. Indonesia has also seen a sharp decline in their wild population as oil palm plantations spread across the country.
While tigers are slowly clawing their way back into the wild, there’s still a long road ahead for the embattled species.
This article was originally published on news.com.au.
