Siberian Tiger Population Declines
source: http://www.livescience.com/animals/091130-siberian-tiger-population-decline.html
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"The last remaining population of Siberian tigers has likely declined significantly due to increased poaching and habitat loss, according to a report released yesterday by the Siberian Tiger Monitoring Program, a collaboration between the U.S. Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and several Russian organizations.
The report was based on a recent annual tiger survey conducted over a representative part of the tiger's range. Only 56 tigers were counted in the monitoring area, a 40 percent decline from the 12-year average.
Such annual tiger surveys, which are conducted at 16 monitoring sites scattered across the tiger's range, act as early warning systems to detect changes in the tiger population. The monitoring area, which covers 9,000 square miles ((23,555 square kilometers), represents 15percent to 18 percent of the existing tiger habitat in Russia.
While deep snows this past winter may have forced tigers to reduce the amount they traveled, making them less detectable, the report notes a four-year trend of decreasing numbers of tigers.
"The sobering results are a wake-up call that current conservation efforts are not going far enough to protect Siberian tigers," Dale Miquelle, of the WCS’s Russian Far East Program, said in a statement. "The good news is that we believe this trend can be reversed if immediate action is taken."
http://www.livescience.com/animals/091130-siberian-tiger-population-decline.html
The report was based on a recent annual tiger survey conducted over a representative part of the tiger's range. Only 56 tigers were counted in the monitoring area, a 40 percent decline from the 12-year average.
Such annual tiger surveys, which are conducted at 16 monitoring sites scattered across the tiger's range, act as early warning systems to detect changes in the tiger population. The monitoring area, which covers 9,000 square miles ((23,555 square kilometers), represents 15percent to 18 percent of the existing tiger habitat in Russia.
While deep snows this past winter may have forced tigers to reduce the amount they traveled, making them less detectable, the report notes a four-year trend of decreasing numbers of tigers.
"The sobering results are a wake-up call that current conservation efforts are not going far enough to protect Siberian tigers," Dale Miquelle, of the WCS’s Russian Far East Program, said in a statement. "The good news is that we believe this trend can be reversed if immediate action is taken."
http://www.livescience.com/animals/091130-siberian-tiger-population-decline.html
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