International Tiger’s Day 2023: Theme, Importance, History

Tigers have always inspired us to be strong and now is our chance to conserve them. Every year 29th of July is celebrated as International Tiger Day. This year also on 29th July 2023, Saturday would be celebrated as International Tiger Day worldwide. Tiger is a wonderful creature known for its strength and speed. It is the National animal of India. Tiger is the combination of agility, strength, grace, and power. It is considered as the pride of India. Continue reading this blog till the end and take a pledge to unite and make efforts to conserve the roar of tigers on this International Tiger’s Day. 

Also Read: Animal Psychology

Brief History of International Tiger’s Day

International Tiger’s Day was founded in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit in Russia. Since then, the whole world has dedicated this day to spreading awareness for the conservation of tigers and their habitat. The 13 tiger range countries united to create Tx2- they aim to double the number of wild tigers by 2022 and save this magnificent endangered big cat from becoming extinct.

Global Tiger Day is celebrated every year on July 29th as a way to raise awareness about this magnificent but endangered big cat. The day was founded in 2010 when the 13 tiger range countries came together to create Tx2 – the global goal to double the number of wild tigers by the year 2022.

“Doubling tigers is about tigers, about the whole of nature – and it’s also about us”  – Marco Lambertini, Director General WWF

List of countries actively involved in fulfilling the aim of International Tiger Day:

• Nepal
• Indonesia
• Bhutan
• India
• Malaysia
• Cambodia
• China
• Taiwan

Know More About International Tiger Day

Also Read: Veterinary Courses

International Tiger’s Day: Significance

Tigers are strong yet beautiful creatures. The two recognized subspecies of tiger namely continental and the Sunda. Its beauty is reflected through its thick yellow coat of fur and dark black stripes all over its body.

Despite their strength, tigers are facing severe threats to their existence due to humans and climatic conditions severely affecting their existence in the ecosystem. This issue has created the emergence of the need to spread awareness through International Tiger Day.

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were around 1,00,000 tigers in the wild. But gradually due to human intervention through poaching, illegal wildlife trade, habitat destruction, etc, their numbers have declined drastically to 3,900 today. Tiger populations continue to decline in several locations, including much of Southeast Asia.

Apart from all the major political disputes between different nations, every country is putting in efforts to conserve the tigers and their habitat. 

Also Read: How to Make a Career in Wildlife Management?

International Tiger’s Day: Theme 2023

This year the theme of International Tiger’s Day is “Tigers: Roar for Conservation.” This theme reflects the urgency to implement the conservation efforts of the tigers from extinction. Tigers play an important role in maintaining the ecological balance. So, we must save them and save the earth. We should raise our voices against illegal wildlife trade to save this magnificent big cat. 

The focus of this subject was on combining global efforts, encouraging public involvement, and getting promises from governments and organizations to secure a sustainable future for wild tigers.

Reasons Behind the Decline of Tigers Worldwide

The decline in the population of tigers is associated with several interrelated factors, primarily driven by human activities:

• Habitat Loss: The conversion of forests by humans into agricultural land, logging, urbanization, and infrastructure development has led to a significant reduction in the tiger’s natural habitat. 
• Poaching: Illegal hunting for tiger body parts like skin, bone, teeth, etc. for trading purposes by humans disrupts the delicate balance of the population of tigers. 
• Illegal Wildlife Trade: The illegal trade in tigers i.e. selling and purchasing of tigers as pets or for other entertainment and commercial purposes is exploiting the reproduction rate and cycle of tigers in the wild. 
• Human-Wildlife Conflict: As human populations expand into tiger habitats, conflicts arise due to livestock depredation or threats to human safety, leading to retaliatory killings of tigers.
• Climate Change: it is also one of the major reasons posing a great impact on the tiger population. Rising sea levels and changing weather patterns threaten the delicate ecosystems that tigers rely on, which ultimately affects their prey and habitats.

Also, Read: World Elephant Day

Ways to Conserve Tigers

As an individual, this International Tiger’s Day you can promise yourself that you would adopt different ways in which you could help conserve tigers worldwide.

Following are some ways to conserve tigers:

• Make sure that the products you buy are not made from endangered wildlife or their body parts. 
• Spread awareness through your social media handles and encourage people to preserve wildlife. 
• Donate to wildlife charities who are working for the conservation of tigers worldwide.
• Be a responsible tourist while visiting wildlife sanctuaries to witness the beauty of tigers and other animals. 

Also Read: Top Careers in Wildlife Conservation

Government Initiatives

The Government of India plays an important role in the conservation of tigers. Many initiatives are taken by the Indian government that helps secure the population of tigers in the world. Some key initiatives are listed below:

• Launched in 1973, Project Tiger aims at creating and maintaining tiger reserves in the country. These tiger reserves would ultimately serve as protected areas for tigers to thrive and live peacefully in their natural habitat.
• The Indian Government also launched National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in 2005. This authority is responsible for overseeing, coordinating and implementing tiger conservation policies and projects. 
• Tiger reserves, anti-poaching measures and community participation are some of the other steps taken by the Indian government to conserve tigers and their habitat and eradicate the increasing number of crimes taking place against tigers.

FAQs

Let us know your views on how you celebrated International Tiger Day in the comment section below. Keep reading Leverage Edu blogs to stay informed about the news and things that are happening in the world of education!