Prior to a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inauguration of the third Asian Tigers’ meet on Tuesday, World Wildlife Fund and Global Tiger Forum on Monday said that the number of wild tigers has increased to 3,890 from the earlier figure of 3200.
While India has the highest number of tigers at 2,226, Russia follows next with 433. Indonesia boasts of 371 tigers and Malaysia has 250. Nepal, Thailand, Bangladesh and Bhutan have 198, 189, 106 and 103 tigers respectively. Other participant countries which are also believed to have tigers are Myanmar, China and laos.
This updated minimum figure has been compiled from the data available International Union Of Conservation Network (IUCN) and the latest national tiger surveys. This can be attributed to multiple factors including increases in tiger populations in India, Russia, Nepal and Bhutan, improved surveys and enhanced protection.
“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,” said Marco lambertini, Director General, WWF International.
During the meeting, the countries will report on their progress toward the Tx2 goal (doubling big cat numbers in the wild by 2022) and commit to the next steps. Prime Minister Modi will address the conference on the “essential role tigers play as a symbol of a country’s ecological well-being”. The meeting will be attended by about 700 experts from various Asian countries.
“A strong action plan for the next six years is vital,” said Michael Baltzer, leader of WWF Tx2 Tiger Initiative. “The global decline has been halted but there is still no safe place for tigers. Southeast Asia, in particular, is at imminent risk of losing its tigers if these Governments do not take action immediately.”