International Tiger Day observed

International Tiger Day was observed on 29 July 2016. The day is held annually on 29th July to give worldwide attention to the reservation of tigers.
•    The goal of the day is to promote a global system for protecting the natural habitats of tigers and to raise public awareness and support for tiger conservation issues.
•    It was founded in 2010 at the St. Petersburg Tiger Summit, with the aim to double the big cat population by 2022.
•    As per latest data by tiger experts, the world has lost 97 percent of all wild tigers in a little over 100 years.
•    The World Wildlife Fund and the Global Tiger Forum says that the number of wild tigers has gone up to 3890 from the earlier 2010 estimate of 3200.
•    In 1915, the number of tigers was 1 lakh.
•    Some species of tigers have already been extinct.
•    India leads tiger population countries with an estimated population of 2226.
•    Despite countries such as India, Nepal, Russia and Bhutan registering a rise in tiger population, the status of the animal remains endangered.
•    Poaching has been the biggest threat to tigers in India. 81 tigers were victims to poachers in 2014, 25 in 2015 and by April 2016 it was 28.
•    According to reports of United Nations Environment Programme and Interpol, the environmental crime industry, which includes illegal trade in wildlife, is worth 258 billion dollars.
•    Expansion of cities and agriculture by humans led to loss of 93% natural habitat for tigers lost
•    Fewer tigers can survive in small, scattered islands of habitat, which make tigers more vulnerable to poaching, which lead to a higher risk of inbreeding.
•    Sundarbans, a large mangrove forest area shared by India and Bangladesh on the northern coast of the Indian Ocean, is one of the world’s largest places where tiger populations is found.
•    Sundarbans harbors Bengal tigers and protects coastal regions from storm surges and wind damage.
•    Rising sea levels that were caused by climate change threaten to wipe out these forests and the last remaining habitat of this tiger population.
•    WWF study says that without mitigation efforts, projected sea level rise will go up by nearly a foot by 2070, which could destroy nearly the entire Sundarbans tiger habitat.