Today is Global Tiger Day 2019 so it is fitting that the online WildTiger Health Centre will go live. WVI Veterinary Advisor and renowned tiger expert, Dr. John Lewis, has been working on the creation of the website for a number of years and is confident it will prove an invaluable and inclusive resource for those field biologists and vets working with wild tigers in all the range states. Dr. Lewis envisages the site as an ever-evolving, peer-reviewed, online textbook – something which simply has not existed until now. The intention is to help disseminate up-to-date information on the full range of tiger health issues, as well as providing basic online training. All of this will be free of charge to bonafide users.

Looking forward to the launch, Dr. Lewis said, “We see this as chance to give tiger vets and biologists around the globe easy access to reliable information. It can’t replace practical workshops and face-to-face exchanges, but it can go a long way to helping those who don’t have those opportunities. With internet access effectively universal, the website will be somewhere people can go to find a wide range of basic information,much of which is needed by many of those working in the field.”

By including a contact list of specialists from many countries, the website will also be an invaluable resource for building connections between tiger vets and biologists working in different tiger range states, as they encounter similar challenges. Essentially, Dr. Lewis sees it as a chance to pool global expertise and increase the capabilities of all those using it, to the benefit of both conservation professionals and tigers. In the longer run, he hopes it will serve as a model for online veterinary support for other species.

Specialists and organisations currently contributing to the website come from the UK, Russia, Indonesia, Nepal,Bangladesh and the USA. Modules covered include Tiger Biology, Field Anaesthesia, Mitigation of Tiger-Human Conflict and Rehabilitation of Orphaned,Sick and Injured Tigers. See our project page for more information.

Adding content is an ongoing job and this very much wanted tool for the tiger conservation community would not happen without the support from:

• Big Cat Sanctuary
• Chessington World of Adventures
• Colchester Zoo's Action for the Wild
• International Zoo Veterinary Group
• Photography 4 Big Cats CIC
• Shepreth Wildlife Conservation Charity
• Twycross Zoo
• Zoological Society of Hertfordshire

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