International Tiger Day (29/07)

Every year on July 29, the world celebrates International Tiger Day, which was established in 2010 at the International Forum «Tiger Summit» in St. Petersburg on the problems of preserving the population of this predatory animal.

The initiators of the establishment of the date were 13 states that participated in the forum, in which tigers still live. During the event, a program for restoring the tiger population, designed for 2010-2022, was also developed and adopted, the goal of which is to double the number of tigers over the designated period.

The tiger is under international protection, included in the Red Book of the International Union for Animal Welfare, the Red Book of Russia and other security documents of various countries. A complete ban on tiger hunting has been in effect since 1947; in 1955, the capture of tiger cubs was banned and then strictly limited.

Unfortunately, only no more than 5 thousand individuals have survived in the wild. Over the past century, the number of tigers has decreased by 25 times, and today these animals are in danger of extinction. In most cases, they become victims of poachers. And this problem cannot but worry environmental communities around the world.

But due to the measures taken, in 2020 experts noted an increase in the number of tigers in the world. In India alone, the number of wild tigers was estimated at 2600-3350 individuals. This is approximately 75% of their total population in the world. Neighboring Nepal, home to 121 tigers in 2009, had 235 in 2020. A similar pattern was observed in Bhutan and China, where tigers are increasingly seen. This suggests that conservation measures are bearing fruit.

Fortunately, Russia is also among the countries where the number of striped predators is increasing. On the territory of the Russian Federation, 95% of the population of the world's largest tiger – Amur lives (approximately 200 Amur tigers live in the Far East, and in total there are about 750 individuals in Russia). Much has been done to achieve this, and measures continue to be taken to increase it.

Russia – is one of the few countries where the number of striped predators is increasing (Photo: Nick Biemans, licensed by Shutterstock.com)

In addition to the creation of new unique nature reserves and environmental protection zones in the country, work is also being carried out at the legislative level. For example, in 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed two laws according to which the sale and murder of rare cat species faces criminal liability, and the powers of rangers and inspectors in the fight against poachers were expanded.

The main goal of holding International Tiger Day – is to inform the general public about the problem of the disappearance of tigers and ways to protect them. Many relevant events – thematic exhibitions, TV shows, excursions to zoos, charity and educational events and much more are timed to coincide with this Day in different countries.

Let us remind you that in Russia there is another holiday dedicated to these striped predators, – Tiger Day in the Far East, celebrated annually at the end of September.

For information The tiger is one of the largest terrestrial predators, second in mass only to white and brown bears. The mass of males reaches 275 kg (in some cases – 320 kg), trunk length – from 2.5 to 2.8 m (excluding tail length), height at the withers – is more than a meter.

The arrangement of the stripes is unique in each individual tiger, which can be used to identify individual individuals, similar to fingerprints in humans. The tip of the tiger's tail is always black.

Of the nine known tiger subspecies, only six currently survive. The Bengal tiger – is the most abundant subspecies (40% of the total number of the species), lives in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal. The Amur tiger – is one of the rare (about 11%) and the largest of all known subspecies lives in the Primorsky and Khabarovsk territories of Russia, as well as in northeast China. The Malayan tiger – was recognized as a subspecies only in 2004 and lives in the Malaysian region of the Malacca Peninsula. China is home to the Chinese tiger, and Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam are home to the – Indochinese tiger. The smallest extant subspecies (about 150 kg) – Sumatran tiger is found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.



Infographics – poster «July 29 — International Tiger Day»

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