How do you count global tiger numbers?

Welcome to episode two of WildCats Pawcast, the show which brings you closer to experts from around the world working to save wild tigers and their habitats. Today we’re going to be taken deep into the world of tigers as we explore the subject of population monitoring which is very topical during this Year of the Tiger.

Confronted with the dire situation facing wild tiger survival back in 2010, world leaders and conservation practitioners met to discuss strategies for tiger recovery. This meeting was a first in human history where country leaders converged to discuss the conservation of a single species. The outcome was a Global Tiger Recovery Program that outlined strategies to double tiger numbers by the next Year of the Tiger in 2022. And here we are, it’s 2022. 12 years have passed and what happened to that goal to double wild tiger numbers?

Ahead of this year’s global tiger count we are joined by Dr Jhala, the dean and a senior professor at the Wildlife Institute of India and Dr Abishek Harihar, a population ecologist and assistant director of Panthera’s Tiger program. They explain the history of counting tigers and how baselines were set. We hear how these methods have developed over the years and the benefits and challenges this has created. Dr Jhala gives us an eye-opening insight into India’s Guinness World Record holding tiger count and we hear from Dr Harihar about some of the challenges associated with estimating global tiger numbers.