I read an uplifting article today which deserves to be shared because quite often we don’t hear the good side of the news – for the first time in a century, the number of wild tigers is rising.

National tiger surveys carried out show that we have approximately 3890 tigers living in the wild, an increase from the 3200 estimate of 2010. The survey attributes the rise to the improvement of surveys; greater protection for the species and rising numbers in Bhutan, India, Russia and Nepal.

After the 2010 survey results were published, the 13 countries which are indigenous to tigers gathered and put in place the Global Tiger Recovery Plan. This plan is the combined countries plan to double the number of wild tigers by 2022 which coincides with the next Chinese Year of the Tiger. The 13 Tiger Range Countries are – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, Vietnam and North Korea.

Governments, species experts, scientists, park rangers, conservation experts and communities are all coming together to give tigers their just deserts. The plan to double numbers include taking on the illegal wildlife trade, training rangers and improving the level of conservation to reduce hunting.

We share this planet and I think if we can achieve these targets for one species, we should be able to do it for the others. On a side note, if you want to see our very own mini-tiger, check my other post out.