Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo and big cat conservation group Panthera form crucial partnership to save endangered tigers in Peninsular Malaysia

With fewer than 3,200 tigers in the wild, collaboration is critical to recovery

SEATTLE, 2013-08-01 — /travelprnews.com/ — Woodland Park Zoo’s Partners for Wildlife initiative is joining forces with Panthera, a big cat conservation group, to immediately address the plight of endangered tigers (Panthera tigris) in Peninsular Malaysia.

Taking on threats to tiger populations, primarily illegal poaching and loss of habitat, at sites in Malaysia’s central forest region, is first priority. Woodland Park Zoo and Panthera have a unique opportunity to work with local Malaysian partners to secure a future for these incredible animals.

Woodland Park Zoo will provide hands-on staff expertise and a matching annual contribution of $50,000 per year for 10 years, allowing for $100,000 annually combined with Panthera’s contribution, toward in-country tiger conservation totaling $1 million for the project. The announcement today coincides with Global Tiger Day, in which conservation groups and communities across the world recognize the impending danger to the tiger population.

“We couldn’t be more pleased to partner with Panthera, renowned for its leading conservation programs and their significant field experience with large cats,” said Dr. Fred Koontz, Vice President of Field Conservation at Woodland Park Zoo. Panthera’s track record combined with the zoo’s conservation and education expertise forms an effective collaboration to address the devastatingly fast decline of tiger populations. Current estimates reflect fewer than 3,200 wild tigers remain, with fewer than 500 in Malaysia.

The Woodland Park Zoo and Panthera partnership is envisioned as a decade-long effort to work with in-country counterparts and the Malaysian government to establish a series of critical field projects that focus on the Greater Taman Negara region of central Malaysia to protect core tiger breeding sites.

Panthera’s CEO, Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, explained, “As one of the remaining tiger strongholds in all of Asia, Malaysia’s greater Taman Negara region, where Panthera and WPZ are working, stands as one of the best chances for the long-term survival for the Malayan tiger.”

He continued, “Multi-year commitments are critical for making a difference for tigers and other endangered animals in the wild, and we couldn’t be more thrilled by this initiative with our long-term partner, Woodland Park Zoo. They serve as an exemplary model for other zoos that wish to make a true difference in species conservation around the globe.”

The first project, launched last December through Panthera’s Tigers Forever program, is aimed at reducing illegal tiger poaching by training rangers in Taman Negara National Park, a 1,000,000-acre pristine, rain forest sanctuary.

Working in collaboration with the Malaysian NGO, MYCAT, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the Malaysian Department of Wildlife and National Parks, the team: 1) trained 80 park rangers and managers in law enforcement and data collection methods; 2) increased antipoaching patrols in Taman Negara; and, 3) shared data and recommendations for future conservation initiatives with government officials.

Next steps for the project include assembling a new field team to identify, protect and monitor the tigers living in Core Areas of the Greater Taman Negara Landscape. Beginning in the north of Taman Negara National Park and adjacent Kenyir Wildlife Corridor, the team will conduct a thorough threat assessment for the area, use camera trap surveys to estimate tiger numbers and support front line protection measures for this important breeding tiger population.

The tiger is on the brink of extinction and the stakes are much higher than the population of one species. Thus, this joint Tiger Project has broader implications than just protecting the tiger. Through these efforts, the tiger’s forest habitat and the biodiversity contained within it also will be protected. Woodland Park Zoo and Panthera are honored to have this opportunity to work with their Malaysian colleagues to secure a future for these incredible animals and their habitats.

About Woodland Park Zoo
Accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, award-winning Woodland Park Zoo is famed for pioneering naturalistic exhibits and setting international standards for zoos in animal care, conservation and education programs. Conservation, education and excellent animal care are at the core of the zoo’s mission. The zoo partners with 35 field conservation projects in the Pacific Northwest and around the world to help support the critical work necessary to preserve wildlife and habitat. For more information on Woodland Park Zoo tiger conservation efforts, visit www.zoo.org/conservation/tigers

About Panthera and Tigers Forever
Panthera, founded in 2006, is devoted exclusively to the conservation of wild cats and their ecosystems. Panthera’s Tigers Forever program was launched after decades of continuing tiger declines and is changing the face of tiger conservation. Tigers Forever makes a unique commitment to increase tiger numbers at key sites by at least 50% over a 10-year period by relentlessly attacking the most critical threats to tigers – poaching of tigers and their prey. Utilizing rigorous science to maintain constant vigilance on conservation efforts and on the tiger itself, this transformative program is the only one of its kind to guarantee success – the recovery of the wild tiger. Visit Tigers Forever

Media contact: Gigi Allianic, Caileigh Robertson
206.548.2550 | woodlandparkzoopr@zoo.org

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