The Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti) is considered to be functionally extinct in Cambodia. These cats, which are thought to be the population from which all other tiger subspecies originated, were plentiful in Cambodia as recently as 1999 (Lynam & Nowell, 2011). But no Indochinese tigers have been seen in Cambodia since 2007. The Cambodian government and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) want to change that. However, leading tiger experts fear that their plan is doomed to fail.
The Cambodian government and the WWF are planning to reintroduce tigers to Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary in Mondulkiri Province. Dr. Thomas Gray, the Science Director for the Wildlife Alliance, claims that this area contains excellent tiger habitat. Unfortunately, there are significant roadblocks to tiger recovery in Cambodia.
Tigers became functionally extinct in Cambodia largely due to poaching and habitat loss. These threats have not gone away. Poaching remains rampant in Cambodia, deforestation continues at a rapid pace, and widespread poverty and corruption compound these problems. Leading tiger experts maintain that these factors would need to be addressed before tigers have any hope of recovery in Cambodia.
In addition, the Cambodian government has been clear that part of the reason they want to reintroduce tigers is to encourage tiger-related tourism. This is not necessarily a bad thing. If done correctly, ecotourism can represent a low impact source of revenue for Mondulkiri Province. But it will not be easy.
Establishing quality eco-tourism operations will be a long process. It might take decades to restore tigers in the Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary – and to get those tigers to feel comfortable around safari vehicles. As such, the Cambodian government will likely not see immediate returns on their investment.
Despite these challenges, there is hope for tigers in Cambodia – just not right now. Dr. John Goodrich of Panthera says that the Cambodian government first needs to bring the threats to tigers under control; they need to develop the conditions that would be conducive to tiger recovery before reintroducing the cats. If they can do this, then in the future there may well be tigers in Cambodia again.
The source material for this post came from an article first published by Mongabay. Click here to read the original story.