Tiger Alert!

January 2003

To: All World Wildlife Members
From: Kathryn S. Fuller, President
Subject: Where have all tigers gone?

Right now scientists estimate that as few as 5,000 tigers may survive in the wild!

And yet a deadly trade in tiger products continues. Grim statistics haunt us:

Fact: In October, a pelt and bones from two tigers were confiscated from a truck traveling between Russia and China.

Fact: This past spring, officials in Nepal made arrests and seized seven tiger skins and 30 leopard skins along the Tibetan border.

Fact: Between 1998 and 2002, 68 tigers were poached in Riau, Sumatra.

Unless we tackle tiger conservation on several fronts at once, this crisis threatens to wipe out tigers in the wild.

Habitat loss poses a serious long-term problem. So we are hard at work identifying and protecting priority conservation sites throughout the tiger’s range.

And because tigers and humans often compete: for the same prey, we are working on projects to make sure the tiger has enough food to survive.

Still, one of the most urgent threats to the tiger is the poaching and smuggling of its body parts that may wipe out this magnificent species in the wild!

Tiger bone, for example, is a prized commodity when ground into powder for use in Asian medicines.

Tiger tail is ground up and mixed with soap for treatment of skin disease.

Tiger Whiskers are sometimes used as charms for protection.

And rare tigers skins tragically are used for rugs and wall coverings.

Unless we work together to stop this devastating trade - and the poaching it causes - tigers in the wild may not survive in our lifetime.

Tiger populations have declined 95 percent in the last century! Tragically, three subspecies - Bali, Caspian, and Javan - have been driven to extinction in the last 60 years.

There is still hope for the remaining tigers but we must move quickly. Won’t you please join these efforts?

WWF knows how to get the job done and because our programs are international, we also have the global reach to give world’s tigers a fighting chance to survive.

We are hard at work securing a brighter future in the wild for tigers - our tiger action plan targets areas where they have the best chance for survival.

With the generous support of WWF members, we are already turning our plan into practical field projects that work.

But in order to achieve our ambitious goals, we need an extra measure of support from loyal members like you.

Because of your past concern for wildlife, I’m hoping I can count on you to send a special contribution of $25, $50, $100 - or another amount suggested on your reply form - to help save the tigers today.

We urgently need your help to uncover the secret trade routes that carry tiger contraband from poachers to black market traders...

And make no mistake - your donation does make a difference!

During the 1990’s, WWF’s pioneering watchdog network - called TRAFFIC - spearheaded in India the largest seizure of tiger contraband in history, including more than 600 pounds of tiger bone.

TRAFFIC investigators also helped uncover key smuggling routes between India, Nepal, Bhutan, and East Asia - and led to the arrest of a major gang of international poachers.

In the Russian far east, where so many tigers were killed in the winter of 1993, we have encouraging evidence that local antipoaching brigades have helped turn the tide and stabilize population.

Antipoaching patrols in Sumatra are making an impact - they regularly rip up poachers’ snares, have recruited informants in local communities, and have taught park rangers to use mapping systems to track tigers.

Indonesia... Nepal... Bhutan... Russia... India... WWF has programs in all these countries - but only because of your steadfast support.

That’s why - at this critical time - you have a fighting chance to save the tiger.

Please, visit www.wwf.org to help!

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Last Updated: Sunday, April 03, 2005
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