Mexico sends 200 tigers to India: there are only 4,000 left in the wild in the world

In the last century, human beings have been responsible for the disappearance of 97% of the world’s tiger population and, even if it seems incredible, there are more tigers in captivity than in the wild. While its population in the wild does not reach 4,000 specimens, in 2019 it was estimated that nearly 14,000 tigers lived in cages (913 in Europe, more than 8,000 in Asia and more than 5,000 in the US).

Now, an operation has been launched with the double objective of removing many of these specimens from captivity and, at the same time, repopulating the depleted wild populations. The Association of Zoos, Hatcheries and Aquariums of Mexico (AZCARM) and the Ostok Sanctuary, all of them in the Aztec nation, around 200 tigers that had been rescued, abandoned or confiscated have been sent to a conservation center in India of zoos in the country.

Around 50 lions and leopards have also been transferred from seizures and rescues or from circuses that could no longer care for or maintain them.

The objective of this operation is to repopulate territories of India with this speciessince, despite being its place of origin, it is in danger of extinction there due to poaching and the destruction of its habitats.

The president of AZCARM, Ernesto Zazueta, commented to the Mexican press that the best place for these animals is the one where they are native.

“Several months ago we undertook intensive work with the Green Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Center of India to carry out this important transfer of around 200 tigers and they committed to working not only for their well-being, but in a special program with all the necessary procedures to achieve the release of this species in the natural environment, so that they repopulate areas where they have practically disappeared”, he indicated.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that fewer than 4,000 of all tiger species remain in the world.

This body remembers that tigers they are hunted as trophies and to extract some parts of their body that are used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Zazueta pointed out that this transfer has been very intense work, which has involved the intervention of many people, including specialists in big cats, veterinarians, authorities, transporters and others.

He assured that they complied with the documentation requested by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and with the animal health requirements issued by both countries.

“It has been a long and intense process, to achieve it we had to work to obtain the documentation requested by CITES and by the environmental authorities of both countries. And the animals that were transferred also went through a strenuous review process of their physical condition, since they have to be in very good health to withstand a journey of so many hours by plane, ”he added.

When they arrived in India, the animals were quarantined for observation. Later they will enter into a process of adaptation and coupling to the environment and later on they will work on the specific program of conservation and refaunation.

“I trust that they will be very well. It is a very spacious rescue center, one hundred percent natural, closed to the public. We already have 100 more copies that we will transfer in the same way, ”he said.

They only survive in 5% of their historical territory

Tigers currently occupy 5% of its territory historical, descending from a population of 100,000 specimens at the beginning of the 20th century, to the current figure of just 3,890 tigers living in the wild. Despite being an alarming figure, in recent years we have experienced an optimistic rebound with the growth of their populations. Its population has gone from 3,200 individuals in 2010 to 3,890 in the last census.

In this video you can see the evolution of their geographical distribution, and what they can potentially achieve if the necessary measures are taken.

Species trafficking is the biggest threat facing these emblematic cats. They are hunted for traffic in their bones, used in medicine for their supposed aphrodisiac powers or miraculous anticancers; for sell their fur and make rugs and decorative objects; and tear out their claws and fangs, which are sold as amulets.