The new year is ringing in with good news for critically endangered Sumatran tigers!
Sumatran tigers are the most endangered subspecies of tigers in the world. Only around 400 are left in the wild. They are native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where they have dealt with pressures from illegal poaching and habitat loss.
Indonesia has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, largely due to the exploding use of palm oil, which is derived from the African palm tree, in many commercially baked foods and beauty and personal care products. Around 50% of the island’s forests have been cut down for palm oil, acacia, and rubber farming.
Tigers are also threatened by poachers who hunt to supply the demand of wealthy clients in Asia for pseudo-medicinal uses or for “trophies;” it is still a major concern despite anti-poaching patrols, laws, and nationally protected areas.
Zoos are increasingly picking up the slack, using breeding programs to ensure the survival of the species and healthy genetic diversity. More than 70 Sumatran tigers live in captivity in North America, and 200 or more live in zoos or conservation centers around the world.
Wrocław Zoo in Poland is just the latest. With a successful Sumatran tiger breeding program in place since the 1960s, it unveiled four healthy cubs late last year! Coupled with recent births in Hungary, San Diego, and Louisville, these new cubs are a major boon to a dwindling population.
All are healthy and have received their vaccinations. While tigers in the wild live between 10 and 12 years, cubs like these in human care can live to 15 years or beyond.
Though Sumatran tigers are the smallest tiger subspecies, they can grow to as big as 300 pounds and as long as 9–12 feet, including their tails. It’s easy to see how increasing conflict with humans and habitat degradation make life in the wild much harder. Sumatran tigers prefer solitary lives and separate territories, so having their own space away from humans and other tigers is increasingly difficult.
The plight of these tigers reveals just how multifaceted our environmental challenges are-from trying to be better eco-conscious consumers to fighting to “re-wild” our forests and public lands to maintaining separation between human and animal habitats. Since there are no easy answers or quick fixes to problems like these, zoos and conservation centers are critically important in helping to breed these beautiful big cats to support a healthy and diversified tiger population.
Steady on,
Rob
Originally published at https://robmoir469011.substack.com.
