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Wildlife project puts focus on tigers

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published March 4, 2007

KEO SEIMA, Cambodia - Capturing a tiger on camera has always been Ed Pollard's goal, but now it's a necessity. His Wildlife Conservation Society has staked its prestige on a pledge to boost tiger numbers by half across six Asian sites over the next 10 years.

The Seima Biodiversity Conservation Area in northeastern Cambodia is one of the locations. So collecting accurate data on tiger numbers and food sources is crucial. The $10-million initiative, called Tigers Forever, was officially launched in January.

As few as 5,000 tigers survive in the wild in Asia, down from some 100,000 a century ago. WCS's other targets for tiger conservation are in India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.

For the Tigers Forever project, the New York group has 15 pairs of cameras covering paths and trails across nearly 80 square miles of the Cambodian forest's core. They are moved every few weeks, set in pairs because the stripes on a tiger are not symmetrical, and the animal must be photographed on both sides before identification is definite.

The conservation group has been operating here since 2002, the year it got its first and so far only tiger photo. But paw prints are found quite often, especially in the softer ground during the rainy season, and there have been regular sightings.

Of all the sites in Asia, the Cambodian one has the fewest tigers, probably no more than 10. But country director Joe Walston is confident of hitting the target, in part because the zone has plenty of prey.

Increased protection is part of the plan. Some of the Tigers Forever money will go toward building three more ranger stations over the next three years.

[Last modified March 4, 2007, 01:14:51]