Tigers, among the planet's most iconic and secretive creatures, have been near the top of the endangered list for some time. But on Thursday, a landmark study by leading conservationists warned that their plight is even more serious than previously feared.
The big cat, the report warns, is close to extinction and the area in which it lives has been nearly halved in the last 10 years.
The area occupied by tigers is 41 percent smaller than 10 years ago and is just 7 percent of its historical "range" before habitat loss and hunting slashed its numbers, according to scientists at the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York, the World Wildlife Fund and the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington. Tigers once ranged across Asia from eastern Turkey to the Russian far east.
In India, for example, where 60 percent of the world's tigers live, the population fell from 100,000 in the 19th century to 3,600 now. Many researchers believe the true figure is less than half the official estimate.
"The current trajectory will surely cause wild populations to disappear in many places, or shrink to the point of `ecological extinction' -- where their numbers are too few to play their role as the top predator," the authors write.
"Now more than ever, tigers need homeland security," the report said.
This grim prediction will come true in 20 years, the authors estimate, unless urgent action is taken.
The study is a follow-up to similar work carried out in 1995. It draws together satellite data on habitat type, information on poaching in different regions and data on tiger numbers.
Counting tigers is notoriously difficult because they are extremely secretive and very spread out. Data is collected either by counting paw prints or setting camera traps which snap unsuspecting tigers on their nightly prowl.
The study, paid for by the Save the Tiger Fund, identifies 76 "tiger conservation landscapes" -- places with habitat which has the best chance of supporting viable tiger populations. Half would be able to support 100 tigers or more.
The grim headline figure is not simply a measure of how much tiger habitat has been destroyed since 1995, although much has been lost. The data take into account whether habitat that has become fragmented would be big enough to support a tiger population. The cats are reluctant to cross open areas and so need well connected forest. Also, it takes into account whether heavy poaching of the tigers' prey means that there would not be enough food for females to raise cubs.
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