Hope for Thailand’s Tigers
One population of tigers is growing—but more work needs to be done to save these big cats.
Officials in Thailand say that one of the country’s tiger populations is growing. It’s a little bit of good news for these big cats, which have disappeared from many parts of the world.
Officials say the tiger population in Thailand’s Western Forest Complex (WEFCOM), which is made up of 11 national parks and six wildlife sanctuaries, grew from 41 to 143 between 2007 and 2023. Some of this forest’s other endangered species, including a few that tigers prey on, are also doing well.
Officials say WEFCOM’s tigers have been well protected from their main threat, poaching (illegal hunting). The forest’s managers use GPS to figure out where poaching is taking place and then patrol those areas. They also use cameras to keep an eye on the area and the tigers that live there. WEFCOM currently has Thailand’s largest tiger population.
This footage of a tiger mother and her three cubs was recorded in a Thailand forest.
Meanwhile, other tiger populations have been shrinking. Tigers once lived across Southeast Asia. Wild tigers are now extinct in Singapore, Java, Bali, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Today, there are only small populations in Myanmar, Sumatra, and Malaysia. Tigers in Russia, North Korea, India, and China are also endangered.
According to officials, WEFCOM’s tiger population growth shows that, with a good plan, endangered species populations can increase. But there’s more work to be done. There are only about 3,500 tigers in the world, down from about 100,000 tigers 100 years ago. The tiger population is so low that there needs to be a huge effort to protect the species from becoming extinct.
Even in WEFCOM, there’s plenty of room for the population to grow, says Stuart Chapman of the World Wildlife Fund.
“Every tiger counts,” Chapman told CNN.
