Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is convening the International Tiger Conservation Forum (Tiger Summit), a historic and unprecedented event to bring tigers back from the brink of extinction, on November 21-24 in St. Petersburg. Heads of governments from many tiger range countries in Asia, other world leaders and representatives of the conservation community are expected to attend.
On the occasion of this "Year of the Tiger" and "Year of the Biodiversity," there is widespread consensus that continuation of the current level of threats to tigers will certainly lead to their extinction in the very near future. Saving tigers for the generations to come will take no less than a high level of commitment from the range countries and international community assembling in St. Petersburg.
There could be as few as 3,200 tigers in the wild, most in isolated pockets spread across increasingly fragmented forests, stretching from India to southeastern China and from the Russian Far East to Sumatra, Indonesia. Largest of all cats, the tiger is one of the most threatened species on Earth. Tigers prefer to eat hoofed animals, but will also prey on fish, birds and even other predators like leopards and bears. These beautiful cats are threatened by growing human populations, loss of habitat, illegal hunting (of both tigers and their prey species) and expanded trade in tiger parts used as traditional medicines.
