Today is world tiger day, an opportunity to rekindle the spotlight on the decline of this species and call for policies against poaching
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himToday is celebrated the World Tiger Day, species whose population is undergoing a decline that seems unstoppable: in fact, only 3890 specimens remain on the whole planet, compared to the 100 thousand present in nature at the beginning of the century. Currently the tigers are present in thirteen countries with a 97% population decline compared to a century ago.
The tigers are mainly threatened by poaching, fueled by the demand for skins and other parts of the body including bones, teeth and internal organs used to make medicines. These beautiful felines are indeed subject of folk beliefs based on traditional Chinese medicine, which give the animal healing properties. The business related to poaching brings in over $ 20 billion a year and illegal hunting continues to grow.
Poaching is not only related to the trade in animal body parts, but also to encourage human activities such as farming.
A recent WWF report "The Way of the Tiger" also demonstrated one relationship between poaching and tiger attacks on humans: 57% of attacks are the work of individuals injured by traps or gunshots, while 22% occur because the tigers are debilitated due to a lack of food resources.
The presence of poachers in the habitat of tigers therefore also increases conflict between these animals and man, triggering a vicious circle that causes further decreases in specimens.
solo few countries including India and Nepal they have initiated policies to tackle the illegal tiger trade: in India there are in fact 2226 and the efforts of Nepal have led to an increase in specimens equal to 19% from 2013 to today. In the rest of the Asian continent, however, hunting and deforestation increasingly threaten the species.
Several organizations have given birth to projects to patrol the territories and increase controls against poaching, such as the SMART (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool) initiative and the platform made up of members of the WWF Asia Poaching Prevention Working Group (APPWG).
Il WWF has that among its objectives double the number of tigers by 2022, increasing investments for the conservation of the species and the efficiency of the fight against poaching also through the pressure on governments of the countries hosting the few remaining specimens.
The meaning of the World Tiger Day which is celebrated every 29th of July is to turn the spotlight on dramatic situation of this kind and to re-launch the challenge to save her by asking the collaboration and commitment of organizations and especially governments of the countries involved.
Read also:
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- Tiger Day: In a century, we have lost 97% of wild tigers
- World Rhino Day, between poaching and risk of extinction (PETITION)
Tatiana Maselli
