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Why save tigers?

The obvious answer is surely because we love these iconic big cats and want our children and grandchildren to inherit a world where these magnificent animals still roam wild. But is it about more than that?

Please help us train local vets to protect the health of the world’s remaining wild tigers by donating to our Big Give Christmas Challenge 2022. Every £1 you can give before 12 noon on Tuesday 6th December will be match-funded, so your gift will go twice as far.

As part of our Wild Tiger Health Campaign we’re remembering the story of Morka*, the first wild tiger known to have died of canine distemper virus back in 2003.

If you’ve been following us for a while, you might remember the young researcher who spent weeks trying to nurse her back to health, but sadly to no avail. That young researcher, Dr John Goodrich, is now the Chief Scientist and Senior Director of the Tiger Program at Panthera and one of the world’s most respected tiger biologists.

According to him, losing tigers is about so much more than just the animals themselves: “Once you lose your tigers, you tend to lose the other species in that forest, and then the forest itself...Governments are much more willing to protect a forest for the sake of the tigers than just for the forest itself…Once you lose them, the poachers start coming in… illegal logging starts happening, the forests are cut down... Wild cats...can be incredible tools for the conservation of everything, of forest, of biodiversity. So there are reasons to protect species that go well beyond the species itself.”

Trapping tigers to fit radio collars and take as many biomedical samples as possible has helped us learn alot about how tigers in the wild and in turn, how we can better help them. Photo credit ARybin.

Some in the conservation world certainly believe that saving tigers can have significant positive implications for biodiversity. If we protect tiger landscapes, everyone benefits. Greater biodiversity increases the resilience of ecosystems and helps mitigate against climate change and even zoonotic disease.

Why do you want to save tigers?

*Read Morka’s story here.

Listen to Dr John Goodrich and other Panthera scientists talk about big cat conservation and in particular, reintroductions, here.

Double your impact by donating now to save these awesome cats and secure a healthier future for the planet.