The Year of Saving the Tiger
Last week, celebrations across the globe brought in the Chinese New Year. 2010 marks the Year of the Tiger, and to commemorate the occasion, the Chinese government has teamed with the World Bank and conservation groups to help save its dwindling wild tiger population in the country. The South China tiger, not seen for years, is believed to be extinct. The latest effort is to help save the Amur tiger in northern China, which now numbers in the teens and could very well be extinct by the end of this decade. The latest building boom has encroached on the tigers’ migration route and poaching always remains a problem. But the government hopes to offset the loss through habitat management, education, and more powerful law enforcement. Let’s hope this leads to a much needed increase in the wild tiger population.