The fate of wild tigers

Abstract

Wild tigers are in a precarious state. Habitat loss and intense poaching of tigers and their prey, coupled with inadequate government efforts to maintain tiger populations, have resulted in a dramatic range contraction in tiger populations. Tigers now occupy 7 percent of their historical range, and in the past decade, the area occupied by tigers has decreased by as much as 41 percent, according to some estimates. If tigers are to survive into the next century, all of the governments throughout the species' range must demonstrate greater resolve and lasting commitments to conserve tigers and their habitats, as well as to stop all trade in tiger products from wild and captive-bred sources. Where national governments, supported in part by NGOs (nongovernmental organizations), make a consistent and substantial commitment to tiger conservation, tigers do recover. We urge leaders of tiger-range countries to support and help stage a regional tiger summit for establishing collaborative conservation efforts to ensure that tigers and their habitats are protected in perpetuity. © 2007 American Institute of Biological Sciences.