Tigers
Results
During the Year of the Tiger (February 14, 2010-February 2, 2011) WWF helped stop poaching, curbed demand, protected and connected tiger landscapes, built political will and rallied support to save wild tiger populations.
Accomplishments from the year include:
Success at the International Tiger Conservation Forum
- Approximately $127 million in new government funding for tiger conservation
- Adoption of the Global Tiger Recovery Programme by all 13 countries that still have wild tigers, committing to double the population in the next 12 years
Protecting Tigers and their Habitats
- Facilitated an agreement between China and Russia that led to the first transboundary Amur tiger protected area between the two countries
- Successfully lobbied with the Russian government to ban Korean pine logging in key Amur tiger habitat
- Helped reverse a decision to auction logging rights in prime tiger habitat
- Helped collar and translocate a tiger to India’s Panna Tiger Reserve which made conservation history when the female tiger gave birth to a trio of cubs
- Aided Nepal with the collaring and translocation of their first wild tiger
- Used highly trained sniffer dogs from the U.S. to track tiger scat to advance tiger science
- WWF scientists were part of a study that found doubling tiger numbers is not only possible, but can be exceeded if Asian tiger reserves are managed as large-scale landscapes
- Worked with more than 20 leading global companies from across WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network to lead the industry in actions that leave trees standing and safeguard wild tiger landscapes
Stopping Tiger Trade
- Increased anti-poaching efforts resulted in successful seizures and arrests
- WWF and TRAFFIC supported newly-established South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network that will increase anti-poaching and wildlife trade law enforcement efforts in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal
- WWF and TRAFFIC reported on tiger seizures and open trade of endangered Asian big cats in black markets along Myanmar, Thailand and China’s shared borders
Tiger Champions
- Engaged celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Suplee, and Dick Van Dyke to support tiger conservation
Leonardo DiCaprio fixes a camera trap with WWF staff Pradeep Khanal at Nepal's Bardia National Park.
© WWF/Jan Vertefeuille - Launched www.SaveTigersNow.org and texting for tigers donation campaign
Captive Tigers in the U.S.
- WWF and TRAFFIC called for a centralized federal database to monitor captive tigers in the U.S. because weak regulations could be fueling the illegal tiger market internationally
- WWF supporters urged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Department of Agriculture to close the loopholes for tiger ownership
- Presented the plight of wild tigers at a congressional briefing and rallied U.S. government support
Thanks to these actions and more, the Year of the Tiger ended on a note of optimism that heralds the hope for new beginnings: for tigers, for nature and for conservation’s next 50 years.
