Tigers are the biggest of Earth’s big cat species. With their orange fur and black stripes, they’re pretty popular animals! Sadly, the creatures are rare sights as well. Wildlife experts think as few as 4,500 tigers are left in the wild, with all of them living on the continent of Asia. However, officials in one Southeast Asian nation recently shared some clawfully good news. Wild tiger numbers in Thailand are increasing!
Thai government officials put out a report on July 29, 2024, which was also International Tiger Day. Wildlife experts often use the day to share information about the cats and to discuss new ways to protect them. The new report that between 179 and 223 tigers live in the wild in Thailand. This shows a continuing trend of Thailand’s tiger numbers going up! In 2020, experts thought the number was 130 to 160, and then in 2022, they estimated the number was at 148 to 189.
Wildlife experts and government officials have worked hard to bring this tiger bump into being. Two of the biggest threats to tigers include and . Today, most of Thailand’s tigers live in an area called the Western Forest Complex, or WEFCOM. That massive forest area gets protections from the Thai government so that the tiger’s habitat can stay safe.
Experts use hidden cameras to study the animals without disturbing them, and special officers the area to stop hunters from killing the cats. Workers have also released other animals into places where the tigers live to be prey. These include sambar deer, which tigers hunt and eat.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is one group working to protect the cats. The group says that Thailand is now the first country in Southeast Asia to increase its number of wild tigers. Dechen Dorji, a leader of the group, told News-O-Matic that Thailand’s success is thanks to “ of good efforts.”
Officials at the WWF say there is still a lot more work to be done, however. Though tiger numbers in Thailand have gone up, the cats have sadly vanished in other parts of Southeast Asia over the last 25 years, including in the countries of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Dechen Dorji says he hopes similar plans can be made to save tigers in Malaysia and Indonesia.
“Wildlife conservation is important,” added Dechen Dorji. The expert explained that “we owe it to both current and future generations to protect wildlife and their habitats for the well-being and sustenance of all!”
By Tyler Burdick
Updated August 13, 2024, 5:00 P.M. (ET)
