Rare Sumatran tiger family caught on camera
A World Wildlife Fund research team in Indonesia has caught footage of a rare Sumatran tiger family on video camera for the first time.
The WWF team has spent five years filming the tigers using camera traps in order to study the big cats’ behaviour and identify and catelogue the endangered species. There are estimated to be around 400 tigers left in the wild and the species is at highly vulnerable to poaching and deforestation.
The footage released on WWF’s TouTube channel is the first time a tigress and her cubs have been caught on film.
Research team leader Karmila Parakkasi, said: “We are very concerned because the territory of this tigress and its cubs is being rapidly cleared by two global paper companies, palm oil plantations, encroachers, and illegal loggers.”
The WWF hopes to make 2010 a turning point for tigers, who are in decline from eastern Russia to southeast Asia. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is due to host a tiger summit when the WWF hopes regional leaders will sign up to political commitments protecting the species.
“We want to change the course of tiger conservation,” said Mike Baltzer, leader of WWF’s global Tiger Initiative. “It’s not just about saving the tiger from extinction, but about doubling their number by 2022.”