Wildlife Trade Specialists
Bengali tiger, Madhav Shivpuri National Park, India © National Geographic Stock / Michael Nichols / WWF
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bringing the tiger back from the brink
The tiger Pathera tigris is possibly the world’s most iconic Big Cat, with recent estimates believing there to be approximately 3,800 left in the wild. Their territory can span several countries, meaning effective collaboration between Range States is crucial to their protection.
Once found across Asia, from Turkey to eastern Russia, over the past century tigers have disappeared from south-west and central Asia. Much of the remaining habitat is becoming increasingly fragmented as a consequence of human activity, made worse by poaching and random trapping. Today, tigers are found only in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Viet Nam.
93% of tiger ranges
have been lost in recent years
758
tiger skins were found in seizures between 2000 and 2015
approximately 30%
of tiger products seized are suspected to originate from captive breeding
7,000–8,000
tigers are believed to be held in captive breeding facilities throughout Asia
3,800
individual tigers are estimated to remain in the wild
Criminal networks are increasingly trafficking captive bred tigers around Asia, undermining international efforts to increase their numbers in the wild
James Compton, TRAFFIC's Senior Director for Asia Pacific
World Tiger Day 2017
Bringing them back from the brink
reduced to skin and bones
Recent TRAFFIC analysis of the illegal Tiger trade mapped a minimum of 1,755 tigers seized from 2000–2015, averaging more than two animals recovered per week.
With at least 758 whole skins seized, they represent the most common commodity type in trade. Other items seized included bones and tiger bone wine, claws, canines, paws, gall bladders as well as dead and live tigers.
related projects and reports to tiger conservation
explore projects and recent publications related to our work within trade in tiger products.
Three Critically Endangered tigers among illegal wildlife parts seized by Malaysian authorities
The ongoing trade threatening tigers, pangolins, songbirds and sharks revealed in latest TRAFFIC Bulletin
related reports to TIGERS
Explore the latest publications, reports and papers from TRAFFIC related to tiger conservation and the trade in tiger products.
Visit our resource library for the full TRAFFIC publication archive.
Wildlife Crime
Various projects combating wildlife crime in source and destination countries are working to protect tigers from poaching and illegal trade, both physical and online. Find out more about how we're working to keep tiger numbers up.
Behavioural change
Changing attitudes, knowledge and consumer behaviour is a crucial element in the fight to save tigers. We're currently implementing Social and Behavioural Change Communications initiatives in China and Viet Nam to address the consumption of tiger products.
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