全球老虎剩3千隻 「虎王」五國勤普查救族群


摘譯自2015年7月29日ENS瑞士,格朗報導;姜唯編譯;蔡麗伶審校

每年的7月29日是全球老虎日,然而根據調查,全球老虎數量已從1913年的十萬隻,來到今天的3200隻,在20世紀驟減了97%。

Moni Sertel
昔日稱霸叢林的老虎,如今已是瀕臨滅絕的物種。圖片來源:Moni Sertel。(CC BY-SA 2.0)

真的是瀕危物種 全球只剩3000隻老虎

老虎(Panthera tigris)在世界自然保育聯盟(IUCN)紅色名錄上被列為瀕危物種。最近一次2010年的統計,全球老虎數量只剩3200隻。

雖然各老虎棲地國家皆承諾於2016年發表最新老虎數量統計,今日確切數量仍不明朗。

在今年的世界老虎日,IUCN總幹事Inger Andersen表示:「目前僅存的老虎族群皆是孤立族群,同時,亞洲藥材市場驅動的盜獵活動、棲地流失破碎以及獵物被人類獵殺等生存壓力有增無減。隨著棲地附近的居民增加,森林資源也日益縮水。老虎的糧食逐漸減少,不得不以人類的牲畜為食,導致人虎衝突增加。人類受攻擊後報復性屠殺老虎的事件越發頻繁,而重要繁殖個體被殺後,老虎的次族群也難以維繫了。」

「如何解決人虎衝突,讓人虎和平共生,是現代保育的重要挑戰。」Anderson說。

棲地保育第一步:監控族群數

IUCN在德國政府和德國發展銀行的協助下,於2014年啟動老虎棲地保育整合計畫(Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Programme),第一波專案將於接下來幾天展開,以促進全球的保育活動。

首波專案將聚焦監控老虎和獵物族群,維持連接各棲地的廊道暢通,並讓以原民社群為主的地方社群參與,確保保育活動和社群生計的永續發展相輔相成。

普查做得好 不丹等國被封虎王

為避免老虎絕種,各老虎棲地國正在統計國內的野生虎數量。

不丹29日公布境內有103隻老虎,多於先前估計的75隻。由於全國老虎普查成果不凡,不丹被世界自然保育聯盟(WWF)封為「虎王」。

其他獲得虎王稱號的國家還有尼泊爾、印度、俄羅斯和孟加拉。而孟加拉的野生虎普查結果為106隻,略少於過去的估計數量。

儘管如此,許多東南亞國家仍未執行老虎普查。

「WWF呼籲所有東南亞老虎棲地國家統計境內老虎數量,並加入全球的老虎保育社群,協力保育東南亞野生虎。」Baltzer說。

岌岌可危 東南亞老虎可能全區滅絕

WWF表示,全國老虎普查是2022年達成野生虎數量兩倍成長的重要前置作業,但是東南亞的老虎生存危機嚴重,很可能全區滅絕。

今年,馬來西亞老虎專家指出,當地老虎數量已經從2010年的500隻掉到只剩250隻。柬埔寨、越南和寮國據悉沒有繁殖族群,印尼、泰國和汶萊的老虎數量則不明。

WWF老虎生存計畫主持人Mike Baltzer說:「東南亞的老虎族群岌岌可危。東南亞國家尚未清查老虎數量,再不立即採取行動,恐任憑老虎滅絕。這些國家政治支援很少,資源更少,同時盜獵和棲地流失嚴重,當局可說是不見棺材不掉淚。」

老虎保育的一線希望

WWF認為東南亞老虎保育仍有一線希望。在WWF的協助下,泰國政府正在召開會議商討野生虎統計計畫,馬來西亞政府近日也宣布將執行全國老虎普查,柬埔寨政府也在探討引進老虎的可能性。

有些國家的老虎數量有所成長。今年1月,印度公布最新老虎普查結果,顯示從2010年的1,706增加到2,226隻。5月,俄羅斯最新普查結果顯示境內有540隻野生虎。2013年尼泊爾的老虎普查顯示從2008年的155隻增加至198隻。

另外,也有跡象顯示中國東北部有虎群進駐和繁殖。

Global Tiger Day 2015 Finds Tiger Numbers Shrinking
GLAND, Switzerland, July 29, 2015 (ENS)

Today is Global Tiger Day, and across the world people are pausing to recognize that 97 percent of all wild tigers disappeared during the 20th century, when numbers dropped from about 100,000 in 1913 to roughly 3,000 today.

The tiger, Panthera tigris, is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species maintained by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. The last global estimate in 2010 put numbers at 3,200. Today wild tiger numbers are unknown, although all tiger countries have committed to issuing a new global tiger figure in 2016.

IUCN Director General Inger Andersen said today, “Remaining populations are now isolated and under increasing pressure from poaching for the Asian medicine trade, habitat loss and fragmentation, and the loss of the tiger’s prey species which people hunt for subsistence. As the communities living in and around important tiger habitats continue to grow, so too does the pressure on shrinking forest resources.”

“Because their food sources are increasingly limited, tigers are forced to prey on livestock, bringing them into conflict with local communities,” Andersen explained. “Attacks on people are on the rise and in many parts of the species’ range, retaliatory tiger killings by enraged communities are becoming more frequent, with the loss of key animals important for breeding and maintaining tiger subpopulations.”

“Resolving this human-tiger conflict epitomizes the challenge of modern-day conservation,” said Andersen, “how to allow people and wildlife to live side by side, to benefit from each other. ”

IUCN, with the support of the German Government and in partnership with the German Development Bank KfW, began the Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Programme in 2014 and the first projects will be launched in the coming days, to help boost global efforts.

These projects will focus on monitoring tiger and prey populations and securing habitat corridors to connect isolated populations. Projects will engage local communities, especially indigenous communities, to ensure that the activities are compatible with the sustainable development of their livelihoods.

To keep tigers from disappearing into extinction, countries where wild tigers live are counting their animals.

Today, Bhutan announced that it is inhabited by 103 tigers, an increase over the previous estimate of 75. Bhutan’s first national tiger survey puts the mountainous Asian country on the list of countries the conservation group WWF calls “tiger champions,” along with Nepal, India, Russia and Bangladesh.

Bhutan’s tiger count comes days after Bangladesh released numbers from its first national tiger survey, which counted 106 wild tigers, a lower figure than the previous estimate.

WWF says national tiger surveys are a crucial step in the goal to double wild tiger numbers by 2022, but warns that Southeast Asia is facing a crisis, and tigers could go extinct across the region.

Even so, many Southeast Asian countries are still not conducting surveys.

“There is a tiger crisis in Southeast Asia. Countries are not counting their tigers and are at risk of losing them if immediate action isn’t taken,” said Mike Baltzer, WWF Tigers Alive Initiative Leader. “Political support is weaker and resources are fewer, while poaching and habitat loss are at critical levels. Until countries know the reality on the ground they can’t take the appropriate action to protect their tigers.”

This year, experts from Malaysia suggested that tiger numbers there have fallen from their previous estimate of 500 in 2010 to as few as 250 individuals.

There are thought to be no breeding populations of tigers in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos, and tiger numbers are unknown for Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar.

“WWF is calling on all Southeast Asian tiger countries to count their tigers and on the global tiger conservation community to focus efforts in these critical Southeast Asian countries,” continued Baltzer.

WWF sees reasons to hope for better information soon. Thailand’s government is meeting to assess the status of the country’s wild tigers, the Malaysian government recently announced its intention to conduct the first national tiger survey, and the Cambodian government is discussing the reintroduction of tigers, with WWF’s support.

In some countries tiger numbers are increasing, says WWF. In January, India released its latest tiger census results showing an increase to 2,226 from 1,706 in 2010. In May, Russia’s latest survey found as many as 540 tigers, while Nepal’s last survey in 2013 found that tigers had increased from 155 in 2008 to 198. There are positive indications of tigers settling and breeding in northeastern China. 

※ 全文及圖片詳見:ENS

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