What Can We Do To Save Tigers?

From Tigers in the Wild: Wanted Alive! by P. Jackson and E. Kemf and the 1996 WWF Species Status Report, WWF-World Wildlife Fund of Nature, by Gland and Switzerland.

Scientists closely involved with managing tigers at the local level, Hemendra S. Panwar of India and Hemanta Mishra of Nepal, pointed out an important lesson more than a decade ago: unless local community needs are met, national park and reserve systems will perish and conservation of the tiger will not succeed.

Educate yourself, then educate others.

Check out the resources and links listed within this website. Within a few weeks or months of studying, you could become the tiger expert in your home, school, scout troop or town! Then, think of ways to share your knowledge with others.

Invite Mizzou Tigers for Tigers to speak to a group or school class.

Our group would love to visit your class and talk to you about tiger biology and conservation. Contact us at mt4t@missouri.edu to learn more or to schedule a visit.

How MT4T funds conservation efforts

Local institutions and people. In most situations, a sustainable tiger conservation strategy cannot be achieved without the full participation and collective action of individual, rural households whose livelihoods depend on access and use of the forests where the tigers live. In developing management plans for tiger habitats, increased attention needs to be given to these communities. These include natural resource management groups, community organizations, women's associations, and credit management associations.

Technologies for conservation of resources. There already exists a wide range of technologies and practices in agriculture, forest and watershed management, both traditional and new, for conservation of resources. The internal biological processes that regenerate forests and make agriculture less damaging to tiger habitats take time to establish. However, evidence suggests that with the right circumstances, residents are capable of taking care of their environment.

Tiger Corridors

In order to prevent genetic deterioration in small, isolated tiger populations, extensive areas of natural habitat must be maintained. Given human pressures on tiger habitats, it may not be possible to increase the size of many present reserves, but the situation can be improved by maintaining corridors between them, and allowing individual animals to migrate -- ensuring a broad gene pool.

Action at the International Level

Countries with tigers have limited financial resources which have to be used to tackle urgent, human-related concerns. The international community (in effect, Europe, North America and Japan) has a duty to provide financial and technical assistance to ensure there are sufficient, well-trained personnel to protect the tiger, a symbol and heritage that belongs to the world.