Amur Tiger

I don't know anything about Tayto Park Cremecat but I will be looking it up to see where Czar will be going. It is a real shame he has to move on but he is not a breeding Tiger so I suppose thats why he is moving. Like you I hope he will be happy where he is going. As I said, I don't know anything about this park but lets hope Czar enjoys his life there as an exhibit cat and that he is well looked after.

It's such a shame he and Lara are being separated but Lara is a breeding Tigress isn't she so I suppose that's why she is off to Krakow Zoo.

It is all very sad but I suppose al we can do is wish them both well in the next journey of their lives and try and keep tack of whats happening to them both via the internet.

littlewid-x-

That really is a bit sad CC to lose both of them at more or less the same time. I hope it's not to long before some more come in to take their place, so that you can enjoy seeing Amur Tigers again
WS

How rare (or endangered) is the amur tiger? Showing my ignorance

And in the zoo programs are their many amur tigers in Europe and Scandanavia? Hopefully you have a new couple come in later this year CC. I am not sure how it works with the animals in zoos, and in particular the big cats. There are two main zoos in my state of Victoria, but none have leopards Not sure why (especially as if it was not for breeding purposes you could just have one male given their solitary nature). Cheetahs, lions and tigers seem to be the in the thing.

GR, some statistics:

There are about 3200 tigers in the wild; about 400 of them are Amur tigers so it is one of the critically endangered species. It is also the biggest of the big cats.

The Amur leopard population is near to extinct: only 30-40 left in the wild.

300-400 Asiatic lions are living in India's Gujarat State, nowhere else in the wild.

The number of Snow leopards is about 4000-6500 in the wild.

I think about 100 Amur leopards live in European zoos, and 180 worldwide. At the moment I have no idea how many Amur tigers live in zoos; please help me Tiger girls and boys!

CC

Now I found this:

ZSL manages the Amur tiger EEP (European Endangered Species Breeding Programme) which contains about 300 tigers in zoos across Europe.

I believe there are some also in American and Asian zoos.

CC

Thanks for that info Cremecat I need to really settle down and sort some more info on the Amur Tigers and track a bit more with ZSL.

littlewid-x-

Some interesting statistics there CC. Thankyou for sharing them on the forum.

When I first saw the number of 3,200 tigers it seemed so small for the whole world. Then again, thinking of them individually this is kind of a lot too, but it can be so quickly wiped out by human behaviour Let us hope not

I wonder how much this number has been reduced in the last 50 years, 10 years, 3 years? I would guess that there were a lot more tigers half a century ago, but best of luck that the numbers become more stable.

I did not know that the amur leopards were that rare in the wild It makes yours and Prin* posts all the more precious about them.

GR

GR. Sadly they really are endangered and so precious.

Lai

A hundred years ago there were about 100.000 tigers, so we have lost 97 % of them.

Here is some more information:
http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/tigers/about_tigers/tiger_population/

CC

Thanks for the link CC - overall very sad news.

If the wild tiger population continues to decline at the current rate, recovery may not be possible.

This should be highlighted every day in every single newspaper around the world before it is too late.


Lai

Cremecat as ever thanks for all the info and the link, it does really make for sobering reading.

Lai, Loved your thought about the papers. I do not own a newspaper neither do I personally know an editor, so what I have done is the best thing I could do too spread the word and maybe you may all like to join in.

I have written this on my FB wall.

The Tiger population is at it's lowest ever, with possibly as few as 3,200 remaining in the wild. If the Tiger population continues to decline at the current rate, recovery may not be possible. Lets FB and Tweet this around the world, the message needs to be out there. From one Tiger lover to all the other Tiger lovers of the world.

If we were to all put this on our FB walls and tweet if we do twitter, we all have so many different friends etc on FB & Twitter that the word will spread and who knows, maybe a newspaper editor, journalist will pick this up and run with it, possibly in this country and many more. It's always worth a shot. It takes a few seconds to type and post. If we don't try we will never know.

littlewid-x-

Good idea LW. I've just posted it on my wall, and on WAA's FB page. Those are really sad numbers
WS

Thanks WS, the message is on it's way
littlewid-x-

This is some information on numbers of Tigers in captive breeding. Although its a bit out of date being from 2007
They wrote: "As of 2007, there are approximately 421 Amur, 295 Sumatran, 72 South China, 198 Bengal, 14 Indochinese and 113 Malayan tigers in captivity as recorded in regional and international zoo studbooks.
"Debates persist over the role of captive tigers in conservation efforts, whether managed captive populations serve as adequate genetic reservoirs for the natural populations, and whether the generic tigers have conservation value," they observed.
"The most direct way to address the dilemma is through a thorough understanding of the genetic ancestry... and the level of genetic diversity of captive tigers relative to wild populations."
On this link http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7353407.stm

Also some good news on Tigers in India Tiger population in India increases significantly: WCS
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/tiger-population-in-india-increases-significantly-wcs/article4245110.ece

WS

Littlewid, that was a truly good and inspiring idea. Done on my FB page and also in 3 Tweets as you are limited with how much you can say.

You definitely get the for today Littlewid.

Lai

Thanks Lai for posting and tweeting, thats brilliant, I am going to keep plugging away with this and hope many more join in. I know Prin* has also posted it and shared.

Today I have posted this on my Wall.

Did you know that 2010 was the year of the Tiger. A pledge was made to protect and save the Tigers in the wild. If we don't act now, by 2050 there will be no Tigers in the wild.

I will keep posting about the Tiger especially as there is so much going on with them just now.
If anyone else wants to post that message on their FB or Tweet, please do, we need to keep reminding people about their plight and again we may just hit the right people who can help.

I will check out your links later WS, thanks for hunting them out and posting them

littlewid-x-

Good idea to keep posting as much as we can on FB and Twitter - it all helps.

Lai

I agree Lai. I used to have a Twitter account a few years ago but heaven knows what it is registered as etc. I need to sort out another one so I can tweet as well.

littlewid-x-

It's difficult to keep everything going Littlewid, so many different forms of social media to keep up with!

I use Twitter but not as much as FB but they are both useful.

Lai

I dont use twitter at all, but I dont mind using FB.
WS

OH MY Goodness, what a palarva getting on to Twitter, it has seriously taken me forever. I had an old account but heaven knows what everything was, so I set up a new email account and then tried to sign up for Twitter, I was coming up with some brilliant usernames and passwords but everything was, Nope, gone. It registered the email address but then blocked me going any further. Not to be beaten I have now beaten Twitter and am registered. It looks not to simple but I am sure it's ok when you get going .

I signed up so I could tweet about current campaigns etc for the wildlife and hopefully I will get some followers and I can spread the word further.

littlewid-x-

I have just done my first ever Tweet about the Tigers, to save them by 2050

littlewid-x-

Littlewid and well done for perservering. I only use Twitter for wildlife issues, not to tell people what I had for breakfast - once you're up and running it's quick and easy and some interesting people/organisations to follow and RT.

Lai

Hmmm Might have to open an account myself, although I'm not keen on Twitter, even if its just for the sake of Wildlfe. Well done LW, I know it took you some time to sort it out last night
WS

Thank you Littlewid; I just posted to my FB wall and also Tweeted.

CC