Force for the Forest

Keeping the last lowland SE Asian rainforest safe.

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Gong Xi Fat Choy! Happy Chinese New Year and welcome to the Year of the Tiger.

Let’s take a moment to consider the plight of the Tiger, of which there are barely 5000 of all species left in the wild. There are or were 9 types of Tiger. The furthest east was the Bali Tiger, the last one being shot in 1937 although more were rumoured to live in the reserve till 1963 when a titanic eruption of gas and ash from Mt Agung killed them. It is extinct, gone for ever.

The Java Tiger could argue to be the most important Tiger for the fossil record indicates that Tigers evolved on Java. No matter, they are extinct. I remember seeing the pug marks of one in East Java in 1981 and the park ranger telling me that he still had three, none of which he had ever seen but knew intimately from their tracks. In the 1990’s the rhino poachers rushed out of Udjung Kulon reserve amidst claims that one had been killed by a tiger, but none were ever seen.

The Sumatran Tiger has interesting genetic markers which may mean it is evolving into a brand new species, i.e. not a tiger! It will need to move fast, though, as there are only 400 left. While some are spread out through Sumatra, 300 of them are in the Leuser Ecosystem reserve where they are safe, protected by the laws of Independent Aceh. Poaching has nearly ceased entirely thanks to the efforts of BPKEL and with three cubs a year the tiger can rapidly increase it’s population. The problems will come when the population becomes too large for the reserve – will there be any other reserves that will accept the excess? Can BPKEL continue to keep the poachers at bay as the demand for tiger parts will rise during the Year of the Tiger?

The Indochinese Tiger has a population of 1200 animals, spread over 7 countries, though in 2004 it was decided that the 500 odd in Malaysia were a different sub-species. Because the population is so fragmented, there is little hope for this species in the wild.

The South China Tiger is interesting – maybe a couple of animals left in the wild (there was a huge scandal recently about a photoshopped photo taken by a farmer) but there are 5000 tigers being bred in captivity for their parts. This raises a dilemma. This farming of tigers has undoubtably saved the wild tiger from extinction, by providing the required body parts at a cheaper price than wild ones can be obtained. At the same time there is a large genetic pool to keep the species viable – although no doubt the breeders are busy crossing the different species to gain certain characteristics. However Chinese animal breeders are not noted for their kindness to animals, and it is likely that many of these tigers are kept in appalling conditions, subject to terrible cruelty.

There are perhaps 400 Siberian Tigers left, however their range is contiguous so this is one large population which means that as long as the reserve is looked after, the Siberian Tiger can continue.

Not much is known about the Caspian Tiger, which had the widest range through Central Asia, though recent reseach indicates it was actually a Siberian Tiger. It became extinct in the 1950’s.

The Bengal Tiger has the largest remaining wild population of tigers, over 3000 of which the vast majority are in India. This is thanks to the huge worldwide conservation programme started in the 1960’s which really did save the tiger. Many tiger reserves were set up with draconian laws – today there are shoot to kill policies in these reserves. If you don’t have a permit and you are in the reserve the rangers will shoot you without any questions. It is still not enough. Some of these Tiger reserves have no tigers in them. The reason is quite simple – the reserves are too small, there is no corridors from reserve to reserve and the people are not involved. Instead the reserves have become enclaves, surrounded by starving, land hungry people. The great lesson here is that you must involve the local people in conservation – they must want and back it. This is not hard, but it needs careful planning and execution. This is also how the west can support conservation in tropical countries – by helping to support economies that support conservation. We are starting to do that with Fair Trade brands, but we need to expand these to include conservation of the forests – something the whole world needs.

Please take the time to write to Fair Trade brands and ask them to also work with communities that promote conservation of the forests and the animals within them, avoid products with palm oil content (palm oil is a dreadful force for the destruction of forests and animals) and get involved with Force for the Forest, and other conservation organisations with a similar message, in getting this message across.

Rex Sumner
Force for the Forest

One Response

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1. 

   patrick woof

   what a brilliant blog, even tho i have been passionate about tigers all my life i was not aware there where 9 species. it is a real real shame that there are only 5000 left, it makes me very sad that this great creature which respects it’s environment’s with such grace does not get our respect in return!!!

   February 15, 2010 at 11:29 pm