As per a new study, if conservationists want to save the
remaining tigers from imminent extinction, they should focus
more on protecting main breeding areas in 42 sites in Asia
rather than safeguarding large surrounding landscapes. Due to
overhunting, habitat loss, and wildlife trade, barely 3,500
tigers are left in the wild. Out of these less than one-third
(only 1,000) are breeding females. Commenting on the worrisome
findings, study co-author Professor Nigel Leader-Williams from
Cambridge University said in a press statement, "The long-term
goal is to conserve an Asia-wide network of large landscapes
where tigers can flourish. The immediate priority, however, must
be to ensure that the few breeding populations still in
existence can be protected and monitored. Without this, all
other efforts are bound to fail." The study was published in
Tuesday’s online issue of journal 'PLoS' (Public Library of
Science) Biology. Researchers noted that governments of
countries with tiger population are making efforts to s