Ecotourism: Year of the tiger puts big cat conservation in the spotlight
Last updated 3/2/2010 7:14:05 PM
Lion in Africa. Photo © Alan Godwin. Reef and Rainforest Tours
The Year of the Tiger has raised awareness towards the plight to protect tigers and the big cat family worldwide.
2010 is the year of the Tiger according to the Chinese lunar calendar. Organizations such as WWF and Global Tiger Initiative are stepping up efforts to conserve the species more than ever.
In January this year, the first Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation was held at Hua Hin, Thailand.
It was attended by ministers and senior officials from the 13 Tiger Range Countries (TRC) – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, India, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam – which formed the Global Tiger Initiative.
At the conference, case studies in Namibia and Indonesia on ecotourism and wildlife conservation were presented.
It is reported that 40% of tigers have lost their habitat in the past 10 years. Only 3200 of them are roaming across Asia now, compared to 100,000 a century ago.
According to WWF Tigers In Crisis, wild tigers will face extinction by the next Year of the Tiger in 2022, if no serious measure is taken.
The good news is that travellers can still watch the big cat family – lion, leopard, cheetah, tiger, jaguar and puma – in their natural habitats through Reef & Rainforest tours.
Check their latest itineraries:
Lion, leopard and cheetah in South Africa – See big cats and other wildlife in South Africa’s Kruger National Park which stretches 350kms north to south boasting 300 species of tree, 49 fish, 33 amphibian, 114 reptile, 507 bird and 147 mammal species.