Tiger Extinction Could be a Reality by 2022, WWF Says

[Celtaur]

You know I get upset whenever I read about these things. I used to donate to WWF but I'm not sure what good it does because the tiger has been one of their primary focuses for years yet still they are on their way to extinction. I understand they can't police the entire habitat of tigers to ensure their safety, but there's got to be some kind of change in the mentality of the people who are causing animal extinction. Does it all boil down to money for their uniquely beautiful furs? That's disgusting.

I saw a video once, possibly on WWF, about poaching a tiger and it was so brutal, it made my heart sink. How could people watch an animal suffer to it's death at their hand, and for what? A little bit of money.

Maybe it comes down to our nature's to be consumers, like cancerous tumors feeding on everything around us until there is nothing left. Are we helpless to make a change? Are we too far removed to have an impact? Educating people in the west... what good will that do to save Tigers lives overseas?

Tiger extinction worldwide could be a reality in as little as 12 years, according to conservation group the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on Friday, the Associated Press reported.

Poaching and habitat loss in the last several decades have decimated wild tiger populations around the world and could only get worse. WWF considers the tiger one of the world's most endangered animals.

Marie von Zeipel told AP that there are only 3,200 of the big cats left in the wild, and noted that the total population shrunk 97 percent in the past century.

"If nothing drastic happens, the (population) curve is heading straight for disaster," she told AP.

WWF is looking to increase tiger populations twofold in the coming decade before the next year of the tiger, and is urging various nations to protect the habitats of the world’s largest cat.

“Despite the gloomy figures, the situation is more hopeful than ever,” Ola Jennersten, head of WWF Sweden's international nature conservation program, told AFP.

The WWF will hold a meeting in Russia during November with 13 nations looking to boost tiger populations and prevent the possible extinction.

“This will be achieved through increased political involvement, focus on the tiger landscapes that have the greatest chance of long term retention of the tiger, and increased control of tiger trade,” Jennersten added.

Around 1,800 wild tigers are located in India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Another 450 live on the island of Sumatra, 750 live in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, and 450 live in Russia.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/44682/

[Haruth]

There is still hope... Others are realistic, but taking a less pessimistic viewpoint...

I first came across the foundation (linked above) a few days ago, having just heard (see documentary series below) about the "Join the Dots Program" in northern India: which aims to create conservation corridors between the sparse tiger ranges in that region, joining them up with the greater (and more remote) populations in the forests of Bhutan. Not only does the program aim to increase range of individual groups, but by "joining up" remote tiger families, the hope is that the injection of new genes across the groups, will have positive results in terms of limiting the damage caused by in-breeding.

(And the "good news" that the major financial contributor is an oil company has strangely never made the news... wonder why that would be... )

Still to watch episode 3 myself... You might spot some of my relatives caught on camera...

Enjoy!

Episode 1:









Episode 2:









Episode 3: