Tiger populations plummeted from around 100,000 individuals in the early 20th century to 3,000 individuals in 2010, occupying just 7% of their original range. On the last luna Year of the Tiger in 2010 leaders of the 13 tiger range countries (TRC’s) assembled at an International Tiger Summit to set out the Global Tiger Recovery Program. They set themselves the challenge of doubling the number of wild tigers across their geographical area by the next Year of the Tiger.
The Global Tiger Recovery Programme represented the last best hope for the survival of the world’s most magnificent species and the valuable landscapes in which wild tigers live. Year of the Tiger starts on 1 February 2022 and lasts until 21 January 2023. This is the year we will find out if the TRC’s succeeded in saving wild tigers from extinction across their entire range.