| Campaigns |
| 21st Century Tiger |
Amur Tigers are restricted to the Sikhote Alin Mountains in Far East Russia, bordering the Sea of Japan. In this region, the overall population of tigers is split due to a strip of development between habitat areas. Amur Tiger pug marks (or tracks) have been used to count the population size. Recent studies in 2005/2006 indicate that the population is steady in size with 334-417 adults and 97-112 cubs. Over recent times, there has been a slight decrease in cub survival because of logging and roads disrupting the continuous nature of the habitat. In addition to suffering from habitat loss and degradation, Amur tigers are also threatened by loss of prey species (as these are hunted by humans), hunting of the big cat itself and human-wildlife conflict. In fact, 2005/2006 was a bad winter for human-tiger conflict issues, with injured, young or old tigers struggling to find food and coming into towns to prey on livestock. An organisation called the Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance (ALTA) carries out the largest proportion of tiger work in the Russian Far East and is the most significant driving force behind tiger conservation, so far providing $7,500,000. Between 1998 and 2006, Action for the Wild donated significant funds to 21st Century Tiger, one of the main sponsors of ALTA. Throughout the European Zoo’s Tiger Campaign in 2002-2004, Colchester Zoo raised over £40,000 for tiger conservation. However since then Action for the Wild continued to raise funds for tiger conservation and sent over £2,400 in 2006. These donations have helped carry out tiger census studies in Russia, tiger behaviour studies through telemetry, festivals to raise awareness and patrols to tackle fire-fighting and illegal logging. Zoos in the UK and Moscow hold the breeding programme for Amur Tigers, providing the maximum support available to conservation; such as funds and biological information relevant to the population management of wild individuals. Zoos are ideal for raising funds, approximately €750,000 was donated to tiger conservation from the 2002-2004 tiger campaign, of which Action for the Wild donated more than any other European Zoo. www.21stcenturytiger.org/ |
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No. 1105621 Trustees A C Downing, S D Knuckey, L J Spurgeon, P R Johnson