WIKIMEDIA, DAVE PAPEThe minimum number of tigers living in the wild is estimated to be close to 3,900 this year, up from 3,200 in 2010, marking the first population increase in more than a century. The new estimate was announced this weekend (April 10) by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Global Tiger Forum ahead of the 3rd Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation in New Delhi this week.
“This is a pivotal step in the recovery of one of the world’s most endangered and iconic species,” Ginette Hemley, senior vice president of wildlife conservation at WWF, said in a statement. “Together with governments, local communities, philanthropists, and other NGOs, we’ve begun to reverse the trend in the century-long decline of tigers.”
The increase over the last six years reflects rising populations of tigers in several of 13 countries that pledged to double wild tiger numbers within 12 years following the 2010 Global Tiger Summit (the so-called Tx2 goal), Hemley told Scientific American. “The countries where we’re seeing high-level commitment—Russia, India, Nepal and Bhutan—are the ones where we’ve seen the biggest progress.”
The population estimates are subject to considerable error for some regions, such ...
