Tigers Fighting Back – Saving the World’s Tigers
“The tiger species has the right to survive because we didn’t create the tiger, we inherited it and we need to pass it on to the future.”
This fascinating documentary follows three wildlife conservation biologists who are leading the charge to save the world’s tigers across Asia. Over the last century, tiger populations in Asia have plummeted by 95 percent, leaving fewer than 7,000 tigers. These majestic big cats, once widespread across Asia, now exist in just a few pockets in the most densely populated continent in the world. Wildlife biologists with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) track tigers for research in India, Thailand and Siberia, taking us along with them, revealing tiger habitat, behaviors, patterns, how they live, and what they need to survive.
These projects are part of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s quest to save tigers across Asia. To save them, WCS believes first you have to understand them. So the field biologists work as nature’s detectives, finding out about the basic survival needs of tigers by determining what they eat, how they live and what type of habitat they prefer.
Across Asia, the fight to save tigers is being waged on many fronts. The challenge these biological detectives face is enormous: tigers are being poached for their body parts, skins and big profits. Thailand’s illegal wildlife trade sells tiger parts in Bangkok. Illegal tiger skins have been driven deep underground. But these wildlife biologists combine science and passion dedicating their lives to stop the illegal wildlife trade at its source. Could the future of these big cats lie in the hands of three conservationists?
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Update (2020): There are now an estimated 3,900 tigers left in the wild due to poaching and habitat loss. In some areas, including much of Southeast Asia, tigers are still in crisis and declining in number.
Film Length: 50 Minutes
Film Launch: 2016
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Quotes from the Film
“Asia’s wild tigers are fighting for their lives.”
“With fewer than 7,000 left, many think they are doomed to extinction.”
“Understanding tigers and trying to save them, go hand in hand.”
“In the last century, Asia’s tigers have disappeared in 95 percent of their former range. Now less than 7,000 survive in only 14 countries in Asia and Russia.”
“Each country must come up with their own rescue package for tigers.”
“Tigers are carnivores and need to eat a large animal every week to survive.”
“Russian tigers need huge ranges, about 30 times larger than their Asian counterparts.”
“Alarmingly, there are only a few viable tiger populations in Thailand and Myanmar. In many places, tigers have disappeared altogether.”
“The Thai Border Patrol Police have the official job of protecting tigers. We believe with good protections we can restore tiger populations.”
“In Russia, people share their neighborhood with tigers.”
“Siberian tigers need enormous territories, they can move 20-30 kilometers in a day.”
“But tigers aren’t the only thing caught on camera, camera’s catch chilling glimpses of armed poachers. All across Asia, war has been declared on poaching. The future of tigers lies in the hands of local people.”
“Wildlife Conservation Society holds training camps to catch criminal poachers.”
“In the 11 years the Siberian Collared Tiger Project in Siberia has been going, there have been 18 tigers poached out of 22 radio-collared Siberian Tigers. Fewer than 30 tigers live in this reserve now. To protect the Siberian tiger on this deadly stretch of road through the Sikhote Alin Biosphere Reserve, there is a tiger poaching patrol that watches the road closely.”
“In India, to save tigers it’s also important to look after the local people. Since relocation from the Bhadra Tiger Reserveto outside of it – the people now are growing much better crops, they are eating better, they are healthier, and sleeping better too. Without people in the reserve, there will be less poaching.”
“The tiger species has the right to survive because we didn’t create the tiger, we inherited it and we need to pass it on to the future.”
“Their ambition is to see tigers thriving, whether in India or Asia.”
“In this vast wilderness, people must be willing to live alongside tigers.”
“If we can’t save tigers, what can we save?”
Film Credits
Produced in association with The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
Producers: Alison Balance, Wayne Tourell, Richard Thomas
Narrator: Rima Te Wiata
