Indian conservationists are losing the fight to save the royal Bengal tiger, according to researchers.
Figures released in the past two years by conservation program Project Tiger indicate India’s tiger population has plunged to 1,411, less than half the 3,700 tiger population estimated in 2002, which included 1,500 living in protected sanctuaries.
The decimation was the result of “poaching, loss of quality habitat and prey,” said a Project Tiger spokesman.
Both India and China have been criticised by international conservationists for failing to halt tiger poaching, blaming the lack of effective protection of the big cats on collusion between poachers, government officials and buyers.
Tiger body parts, pelts, claws and bones, are prized ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine.
The census by Project Tiger, which was established by conservationists in the 1970s to save the tiger, took nearly two years to complete, counting big cat populations inside dedicated reserves and forests.
Conservationists say they are fighting a losing battle, with lack of funding hampering effective patrolling. Observation posts in Indian forests are either vacant or understaffed, with poorly paid and outfitted patrol officers no match for poachers.
Indian Government figures released in 2005 indicated poachers killed 122 tigers between 1999 and 2003.
Alarmed by the falling numbers, in 2007 the government announced it was recruiting retired army personnel to form a tiger protection force to guard sanctuaries.
In 2008, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set up a national wildlife crime prevention bureau, made up of police, customs and environmental agency experts, in a bid to kill off the poaching network.
Tiger hunting is illegal worldwide and the trade in tiger body parts is banned under a treaty binding 167 countries, including India.
For information on saving the tiger, visit: www.natureheritageresort.com; www.toftiger.org; or www.globaltigerpatrol.org.
Photo Credits
Bengal tiger – (c) wallpampers.com.jpg
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Hi Vincent,
Thanks for bringing this to light. It’s so very sad. Our species can be so shortsighted …
Lets hope the national wildlife crime prevention bureau can chip away at this!