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Bhutan is a mountainous country, thought to have a small population of tigers. Tigers have been photographed thousands of meters up mountains, and is the only country where this is known to happen. In 2014 a census counted 103 tigers, up from the previous estimate of 75.
There appear to be no further census done. It is entirely possible that Bhutans tiger population has increased, but we cannot know.
Unfortunately below is the last known sighting of a tiger in Cambodia from 2007
With no confirmed sightings since, it is thought that the cambodian tiger is gone. There are plans and conversations going on about reintroducing it -hopefully I can write an article on this in the near future.
In 2011 vietnams population of tigers was estimated at 20. These are of the Indochinese sub species, unfortunately with only around 350 left across all countries it lives in, this sub species could still be lost. It should be noted, that the last photo was in 1997, and it is considered functionally extinct.
Given populations of tigers in nearby countries, if Vietnam improves its forest health the tiger is likely to return on its own in due course.
Unfortunately, there is little more to say about the tiger in Vietnam
In 2009 the first tiger survey counted 121 tigers. In this year, they set up Banke national park, to extend a reserve in the area called Bardia national park. The two combined protect about 860 square miles of land.
A survey from 2018 counted 235 individual animals. Unless there has been a total breakdown, and poaching has started up, this is likely to be well about doubling the population by now.
It appears that there are only 2 different areas of Bangladesh which still hosts tigers. These include the Sundarbans, an area of mangrove lying between India and Bangladesh and the Chittagong Hills Tract where photographic proof of a tiger has been taken. Unfortunately, though there are tigers in the Chittagong hills tract, it is unlikely going to be more than a few.
There is still some argument about how many tigers call the Sundarbans home. 114 tigers were identified, however as this survey only looked at about 16% of the forest it is reasonable to presume there are more. If all areas of the Sundarbans have similar densities of Tigers, we can estimate the whole population at about 700. Assuming this is prime habitat, the original number of 400-500 seems reasonable.
My judgement is that the tiger population has grown. I suspect that it has not doubled, but it has increased. I suspect that there is still significant poaching, but with continued efforts these tigers could recover.
Yesterday I wrote about the problem of tigers living as pets in the USA (https://seeanimalswild.com/2022/02/04/there-are-more-than-10000-tigers-living-in-the-usa-with-under-4000-in-the-wild/(opens in a new tab)
Today and over the next few days, I am going to try to do an overview of how the 12 tiger range countries have managed in their target of doubling tiger numbers in the last 12 years.
In 2010 it is estimated by WWF that India had 1706 tigers living wild within its borders. There are now estimated to be roughly 2967, which would mean an impressive growth but not meeting the doubling goal they have however claimed to have met it (often with lower starting figures). Still a population increase of 72% is not a bad showing in just 12 years. I should note that this number of 2967 is also listed on many pages as the number of tigers in 2018. So it is possible that they have increased the number further over the last 4 years – data is hard to find. One positive point for the future is currently wild tigers only live in about 10% of the potential 115,830 square miles of habitat. Either way, the Indian country is not satisfied with this number, and are aiming to increase numbers by a further 35%. One thing that has been recognized, is that reserves missing apex predators do not do as well. This is for a variety of reasons, but the main ones come down to regulating availability of grazing for too many herbivores. Mizoram’s Dampa reserve, West Bengal’s Buxa reserve and Jharkhand’s Palamau reserve are three tiger reserves within India which have no tigers.
Back in 2010, the 12 tiger countries in the world came together with an aim to double their tiger population by 2022 the next year of the tiger. This has failed and I will write about it in an article coming out tomorrow.
However, perhaps more alarming, there is currently almost 3 times as many tigers living in private collections in the USA than there are in the wild. Even with 12 years of hard work and much money spent the wild tiger population has increased to 3,900, yet in back yards across the USA there are estimated to be 10,000. Now some estimates are lower with the WWF estimating 5000 -though even this low estimate is still lower than the total in the wild. Importantly only 6% of these tigers are kept in facilities that are accredited as zoos, and the rest usually have no one who knows how to work with them. One of the problem with this, is that much of the USA tiger trade is there to provide tiger bones for traditional Chinese medicine.
While some of these are carefully looked after and are only bred amongst their own sub-species, others are are treated essentially as a large pussy cat. Why is keeping their sub-species pure? If captive tigers are to form a protective net against wild extinction, they must be capable of returning to the wild. For this we need each subspecies to remain genetically pure, so that they are able to retain their adaptions for each environment. If for instance, a Bengal tiger from India was released into the Siberian tiger range it would be unlikely to survive as it would not be able to cope with the cold. On the other hand, if the Bengal tiger was released in Sumatra, it could do great damage to the ecosystem as it is so much larger than the native tiger.
Although tigers are listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act, the law still allows private possession of captive-bred tigers as long as they are used for conservation. Precisely how the US authorities can enforce this is anyone’s guess. Clearly, the majority of US tigers have nothing to do with conservation.
The fact that there are so many tigers in the USA can therefore be a threat to the long-term survival of wild tigers. However, it would seem that it is also a big threat to the survival of the Jaguar. Jaguar canines sell for $200-$300 in south America. However, sold in china as tiger teeth, they can go for $5000-$10,000. As a result, this tiger pet industry in the USA can lead to the destruction of not only tigers, but also Jaguars.
What is clear, is that the USA needs to get a grip in its domestic exotic pet trade and fast. There is no place for a big cat in someone’s home. If things continue to go as they are, USA will not only be responsible for much game hunting around the world, but could also lead to the extinction of other species to supply the pet trade.
Tigers are still found in small populations across large parts of Asia, and as such, many millions of people live in relatively close areas to places that protect the wild tiger. A poacher in Bangladesh has finally been caught, it is estimated that he is responsible for the deaths of 70 tigers. Given the current population is thought to be between 300 and 500 in the whole of Bangladesh, this poacher alone could greatly increase the risk of local extinction in the near term.
Workers building a motorway through the Sumatran rainforest got a beautiful shot of a tiger before it ran back into the forest. Due to the destruction of its home the Sumatran tiger is highly endangered so while this sighting is encouraging it also suggests that the continued building is further eating into the habitat that is left.
Unfortunately this road not only endangers local Sumatran tigers but also elephants.
Continue reading “Sumatra is building good motorways across the island leading to the photo of a Sumatran tiger on the edge of the new motorway”The Western Ghats is one of the best kept conservation areas of India. Indeed in the past you regularly heard tigers growling. In this remote northern corner of Goa tigers are a well-known and popular member of the local fauna. Being an animal that many people would like to see in the wild having tigers is also withdraw to your corner of the world.
