Politicians and wildlife conservation organizations are currently convening to discuss the dire state of wild tiger populations. Experts have concluded that only 3,200 tigers are left in the wild. This is a stark contrast to the 100,000 tigers that once roamed the world a century ago. Participants of the tiger summit are proposing plans to double tiger populations by the year 2022, which is the next Chinese Year of the Tiger.
The plan includes measures to:
Cut down on poaching, smuggling, and illegal trade of tigers and their body parts
Conserve tiger habitat, including their breeding grounds
Create incentives for local communities to become part of the tiger conservation effort
To ensure success and bolster tiger populations, the 13 countries that still have tigers would have to raise $350 million dollars for the first 5 years of the plan, and they would would need the cooperation and support of international organizations and other governments.
Can the tiger summit save wild tigers?
To learn more about the tiger summit, visit: Bloomberg News.
For information about the Siberian or Amur tiger, see Animal Fact Guide’s article: Siberian Tiger.
There are only 48 Javan rhinos left in the world. For conservationists and animal lovers that is a frightening number. Conservationists are afraid that a single natural disaster or the introduction of a disease to their home on the island of Java could wipe out the species forever.
To try to prevent this a safe haven is being created in the Ujung Kulon National Park on the island. The International Rhino Foundation and its partners are creating 9,884 acres of expanded habitat. The foundation has raised more than half of the 650,000 dollars needed for the effort, but another 300,000 still needs to be raised.
The 300,000 still needed will go toward planting food for the rhinos, constructing wallows, create water sources, build patrol routes and guard towers, and hire guards to keep poachers away.
Airport staff in Thailand found a live tiger cub packed into a suitcase filled with stuffed animals. The staff noticed what looked like a live cat when x-raying the suitcase. When they opened the suitcase to investigate they found the two-month-old cub. The cub had been sedated.
On June 15 the National Zoo welcomed its second baby kiwi since March. The chicks are both female and doing well. The zoo has set up a camera to observe the new chick via the internet. You can watch it here; the best time see the chick is in the evening as kiwi are nocturnal.
Kiwi are native to New Zealand. There are five species, all of which are endangered. The main threats to kiwi are habitat loss and invasive mammals.
Fun fact: The kiwi lays the largest egg in relation to its body size of any species of bird.
The Denver Zoo announced that their four new Amur tiger cubs have a clean bill of health. Born May 31st, the quadruplet cubs were the first of this endangered species to be born at the zoo since 2003.
Amur tigers (or Siberian tigers) are the largest cats in the world. They reside in a small region in the southeast region Russia and are also located in small numbers in China and North Korea. There are only around 400 Amur tigers left in the wild, and they are considered endangered by IUCN’s Red List. One cause of their dwindling population is loss of habitat due to deforestation. In addition, Amur tigers are poached, or illegally hunted, for their fur and for body parts that are used for traditional medicines.
The Roos-N-More Zoo in Nevada has been surprised by the birth of a ring-tailed lemur baby. The zoo staff was not aware the mother, named Morocco, was pregnant. The baby has been named Marques and it’s gender is not known yet. The staff believes Marques is a girl, but they cannot confirm that yet. For now Marques is clinging to her mother’s chest, allowing a few glimpses of her tiny black and white ringed tail.
All species of lemur are endangered, so this birth will help maintain the current population.
Three year old panda Mei Lan and her 4 year old cousin, Tai Shan, were flown this morning from the United States to China aboard a plane dubbed “The Panda Express.” The two pandas were living at Zoo Atlanta and the National Zoo in Washington, respectively. They were on loan from China and are being sent back to help repopulate the endangered species.
One of the interesting transitions for the pandas to make will be to learn to understand commands in Chinese. Being raised in the United States, the pandas have been trained in English. Therefore, a Chinese language teacher is being hired.
The Minnesota Zoo has welcomed a female gibbon to their zoo. Born about three weeks ago, the gibbon was not being cared for by her mother. She is a white-cheeked gibbon, a critically endangered species.
Our favorite part of this video is the sounds that the baby makes. She sounds like R2D2.
Just as polar bears are in critical danger as global warming melts the ice caps, limiting their habitat, Bengal tigers are also threatened by this phenomenon. Making their homes among the Sundarbans, a mangroves ecosystem in Bangladesh, Bengal tigers number around 4000 in the wild. As polar caps melt, sea levels will rise. According to a Climactic Change journal report by the World Wildlife Fund, by 2070, the sea levels near Bangladesh will rise 11 inches, submerging 96% of the Bengal tiger habitat. This provides space for only 20 breeding pairs, which is not enough to sustain the population.
SeaWorld aquarist Jenny Albert covers up a “cold stunned” endangered green turtle to keep the animal warm at SeaWorld’s Rescue and Rehabilitation Center.
Many green sea turtles have been adversely affected by the Arctic blast that has swept over most of the U.S. recently. Two dozen “cold-stunned” green sea turtles have been taken in by SeaWorld’s Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Orlando, Florida, where they are treating the endangered turtles with heat lamps, blankets, and warm fluids.
To learn more about green sea turtles, read Animal Fact Guide’s article: Green Turtle.
Airport staff in Thailand found a live tiger cub packed into a suitcase filled with stuffed animals. The staff noticed what looked like a live cat when x-raying the suitcase. When they opened the suitcase to investigate they found the two-month-old cub. The cub had been sedated.
On June 15 the National Zoo welcomed its second baby kiwi since March. The chicks are both female and doing well. The zoo has set up a camera to observe the new chick via the internet. You can watch it 
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