Conservation: Why India could be sending tigers to Cambodia
7 hours ago
Tigers are one of the world's most famous big cats, and Cambodia could soon be getting some - thanks to India.

It's all part of efforts to bring the big cat back to the Southeast Asian country where the species has become extinct.

A project to boost the animals' numbers was introduced [in India] back in 1973.

Known as Project Tiger, the Indian government launched the conservation campaign after the animal's numbers became worryingly low. This included strengthening laws in the nation to make it virtually illegal to kill or capture wild animals.
50 years on, and there are now more than 3,100 tigers in India.

With Project Tiger leading to a significant increase in big cats numbers in India, a similar approach could be adopted in Cambodia where tigers were declared functionally extinct in 2016.

This term is used when the numbers of a particular species are so low they no longer play the role they once did in their environment or ecosystem.
Tiger numbers in Cambodia took a huge hit because of poaching, which is the illegal hunting of animals, and the destruction of their natural habitat.
The last time a tiger was captured on camera in the country was all the way back in 2007.

And they could be getting a helping hand from some new arrivals from India.

Cambodia is said to be putting measures in place to accommodate tigers from India.
The government has identified forest land at the country's Tatai Wildlife Sanctuary in the Southern Cardamom Rainforest where the cats can be released once they're brought over.

It's not yet known when or how many tigers will be moved from Cambodia to India, but there are reports which say Cambodia is hoping to welcome the big cats before the end of the year.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/65237432

Condition of Indochinese Leopard Casts Shadow Over Tiger Reintroduction Efforts
8 September 2023 4:06 PM
Andrew Califf
[excerpts]
A report published in June this year concluded Indochinese leopards are functionally extinct in Cambodia after camera traps failed to capture a single image of them in 2021.

The data casts a shadow on the ongoing reintroduction efforts for different, bigger cats that formerly roamed Cambodia: tigers. The World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) has decided to shelve its plan to reintroduce tigers in Cambodia’s Eastern Plains for the time being, but other government and NGO efforts to get tigers roaring again in Cambodia are moving forward.

Cambodia was estimated to have the second largest tiger population in the world in 1999 by the nonprofit Cat Action Treasury, but the last camera trap footage of a tiger was in 2007. Even though Cambodia pledged with 12 other tiger range nations to help double the global wild tiger population at the Tiger Summit in 2010, by 2016 tigers were declared functionally extinct by WWF, similar to the current state of the smaller Indochinese leopards.

Two reintroduction programs were kickstarted in the two regions where tigers previously lived in Cambodia; the WWF aimed to reintroduce tigers in the eastern dry forests of Mondulkiri province and Wildlife Alliance worked in the Cardamom Mountains.

WWF had already completed a preliminary feasibility study in 2013 on Mondulkiri’s Eastern Plains, which determined the region would be very suitable for India’s bengal tigers, the most likely candidates to be the first transnationally relocated tigers. They also published a framework for monitoring the animals and a survey of prey populations for the tiger to eat.

But given the decrease in prey populations over the past ten years and concerns about local law enforcement being able to reduce poaching, Thomas Gray, the Tiger Landscape and Recovery Lead for the WWF Tigers Alive Initiative, does not believe that the Eastern Plains are currently suitable for tiger reintroduction.

“WWF in Cambodia made the decision that we’re not going to look credible, talking about tiger reintroduction in eastern Cambodia, at a time when we’ve very publicly documented that prey numbers have declined by 80%,” said Gray. “WWF decided that it would be more sensible to pursue recovering prey than talking about tigers.”

WWF made the decision to halt its plans to bring tigers to the area and refocus its conservation initiatives in 2021 after abysmal findings of a 10-year study on prey animals was published, according to Tep Asnarith, communications director for WWF Cambodia. The decline in these populations was primarily attributed to snares: wire traps set by poachers to catch game.

“This highlights the insidious impact snares can have on wildlife and serves as an alarm call for other sites in Southeast Asia,” stated Asnarith over email. “WWF in close cooperation with the government’s Ministry of Environment and partners, launched joint solutions to address the situation, [they] successfully implemented the Zero-Snaring campaign to educate people across the country about the consequences of snaring and wildlife meat consumption.”

Gray was listed as a contributing researcher in the June Panthera report for running the first leopard camera traps in 2007-2009, and fully agrees snares are responsible for the decline in Indochinese leopard and tiger prey populations.

“The plight of leopards clearly demonstrates that the landscape wasn’t ready for tigers, the decision not to push it was vindicated tragically by the likely loss of leopards,” said Gray. “Leopards could actually probably live in Phnom Penh better than in Mondulkiri due to the lack of snares,” he said with a dry chuckle.

The Environment Ministry has shifted its focus to reintroducing tigers in the Cardamoms with Wildlife Alliance as the NGO partner. A memorandum of understanding was even signed in November 2022 between Cambodia and India to collaborate on tiger rehabilitation. Tigers would be relocated from India given the country’s robust population of tigers and the success of Project Tiger.
Full article: https://cambojanews.com/condition-of-in ... n-efforts/