While the most popular Tiger safari itineraries take in the magnificent national parks and reserves of the Indian subcontinent, they are not the only wild habitats of this secretive big cat. The six extant species of Panthera tigris are spread throughout Asia, northern China and the far east of Russia; an unfortunate common thread running through all these wild populations, however, is the animal
Conserving Panthera tigris
In the past few decades, dedicated conservation programmes have been stepped up as the species
Bhutan
In 2010, Bhutanthe Manas National Park and the assistance and support of the Bhutan national government.
Kazakhstan
Together with the WWF, the government of Kazakhstan has pledged to re-establish a wild population of the big cat in one of its historic ranges, Ili-Balkhash, 70 years after the last Tiger became extinct. It is the first country to sign such an ambitious agreement and, if successful, it will make be the first to reintroduce the animal back to Central Asia, where it has been extinct for over 50 years.
The plan is to restore a vast tract of riparian forest and create a new nature reserve in Ili-Balkhash. This will help preserve existing wildlife species, conserve the delicate balance of the Lake Balkhash ecosystem and provide a home for reintroduced prey species for the big cat.
India
Along with other agencies, the WWF is involved in widespread conservation initiatives throughout India. Their aim is to restore critical habitat areas with a view to of the big cat and its prey species, education, policy and advocacy. In India, the WWF is currently involved in initiatives in the Sundarbans, North Bank, Terai Arc, Western Ghats-Nilgiris, Satpuda-Maikal, Kaziranga-Karbi, as well as numerous dedicated reserves, including Panna and Ranthambore.
Support Tx2 on a Tiger Safari
So far, 13 countries have made a commitment to the so-called Tx2 goal: the effort to double the numbers of the big cat in the wild by 2022. Responsible ecotourism is just one of the ways in which they