Vietnamese tigers may be extinct

Due to the long period of no further records of wild tigers, many experts believe that this species no longer exists in Vietnam, even in nature reserves or national parks.

A 2011 survey report by the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources in six provinces of Quang Nam, Ha Tinh, Nghe An, Dien Bien, Kon Tum and Dak Lak showed that the wild tiger population is between 27 and 47 individuals. However, according to the research team, this number includes tigers in Cambodia and Laos, because the areas where tigers were discovered are all in special-use forests that share borders with these two countries. This shows that the number of tigers in the three Indochinese countries is very low and at an extremely endangered level.

A year later, Vietnam had only 30 tigers left. This number was estimated to be less than 5 in 2015 according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). "Vietnam has lost its last rhino, will tigers follow?", warned a representative of the Education for Nature (ENV) Center, adding that Cambodia had declared tigers extinct in the country.

Many people believe that Vietnamese tigers are extinct, only captive tigers remain. Illustration: Duy Tran.

Although there have been no further surveys, many scientists believe that Vietnam no longer has wild tigers. Explaining this, an expert said that in order to conduct research and surveys, there must be signs of tigers in a certain area. According to the director of a National Park, it has been a long time since he and his colleagues received reports of footprints or livestock being eaten by this species like before.

"Wild tigers in Vietnam may have disappeared. If they existed, they were usually distributed in the border areas with Laos and Cambodia, from Nghe An to Quang Nam; Chu Mon Ray (Kon Tum); Bu Gia Map (Binh Phuoc), but the frequency of their appearance is very low and almost non-existent," he said.

Mr. Thomas Gray, Director of Species at WWF-Greater Mekong, also agreed with the above view. "Currently, there are no"With updated data on the presence of tigers in Vietnam, it is highly likely that this species is extinct," he said.

If tigers still exist, they are very few and scattered in the forests, so they are unable to reproduce and will gradually become extinct."It is a warning to the large mammal conservation industry in Vietnam when rhinos are extinct; tigers may be extinct and elephants are on the brink of extinction if there is no strong conservation action,"WWF representative said.

Number of tigers in some countries.

According to experts, the number of tigers is decreasing and becoming extinct due to illegal hunting and trading by humans.Since 2008, hundreds of cases of illegal tiger trafficking have been discovered and handled.

Deforestation and land conversion are also reasons that push large animals such as elephants, rhinos, and tigers to extinction due to lack of food and habitat. TigersScattered distribution into small populations, without genetic exchange and interaction can also lead to gene pool degradation.

UpcomingCambodia has a program to release tigers back to the eastern delta region. WWF representatives said that this will be an opportunity for Vietnam if it does good conservation work, because "tigers in your country will cross the border."

According to VNE