International Tiger Day – a global event to raise awareness for tiger conservation – is celebrated around the world on the last Sunday in September.
It was in Russia that International Tiger Day was started nine years ago by The Phoenix Fund, a non-governmental organization founded by Russian and U.S. conservationists.
The first International Tiger Day began as a modest parade in Vladivostok, consisting of a few dozen school children and parents with faces painted like tigers.
Since then, the celebration has grown to become an annual city holiday with over 3,000 participants!
Tiger conservation in Russia’s Far East
Russia has been globally praised for its outstanding Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) conservation successes – a rare and shining example in a world where endangered species populations are disappearing fast. This is in sharp contrast to India’s tiger population, which has suffered a drastic decline within protected areas due to rampant poaching and lack of law enforcement.
Over the last decade, Russia has established itself as the only country where the tiger population has increased and remained stable. The country is home to 11% of the world’s tiger population and has the largest tiger population in a single range.
Russia strongly enforces its complete ban on tiger hunting, and maintains a cooperative partnership of protected areas and scientific research. WWF-Russia’s CEO, Ivor Chestin is proud of Russia’s tiger conservation successes.
Russia is the only country in the world where tiger population has considerably grown since mid 20th century, and has remained stable in the past decade.
There are about 450 Amur tigers in the wild – and nearly all are in Russia’s Far East.The IUCN lists the Amur tiger population as stable – thanks to Russia’s successful programs.
World Tiger Population: Approximately 4,000
Since 1900, the world tiger population has decreased by 95%.
Killing tigers for illegal trade is the main threat to extinction. Loss of habitat to commercial development (particularly mining interests in India) also poses a significant long-term threat to the tiger’s survival.
The Amur tiger, like all tiger species, has been slaughtered to near extinction by the demand in China for tiger skin and body parts, where the illegal market in endangered species products continues to flourish, driving tigers and rhino closer to complete extermination in the wild.
WWF credits intense conservation efforts for bringing this species back from a low point of just 40 Amur tigers in the wild during the 1940s.
Here’s to International Tiger Day!
To learn more about how you can help protect tigers, visit:
Image courtesy of Save the Tiger Fund.
About Rhishja Cota-Larson
