[FEL-L] Venture Capitalists Pledge $10 Million to Save Tigers

[GemOJungle at aol.com]

Venture Capitalists Pledge $10 Million to Save  Tigers

By  LiveScience Staff


posted: 07 July 2006
12:28 pm  ET

Saving big cats comes down to money. And now scientists  have some.  
But they will be held accountable.  
Conservation-minded venture capitalists have pledged $10  million to support 
a scientific effort aimed at saving _tigers_ 
(http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?pic=060707_tiger_02.jpg&cap=A+Royal+Beng
al+tiger+at+the+Dhaka+zoo+in+Bangladesh,+in+a+2003+photo.+AP+Photo/Pavel+Rahma
n) .  In a twist for science, specific results have been promised in what  
researchers are calling a business plan for the big cats. 
The effort, started yesterday and led by the Wildlife  Conservation Society 
(WCS), is called Tigers Forever. The scientists say  proper conservation could 
increase tiger numbers across a dozen sites from  800 to 1,200. The program's 
predictions are based on successes in  bolstering tiger populations in India's 
Nagarahole National Park and the  Russian Far East. 
Experts do not know how many tigers remain in the wild,  but they believe 
there are only 3,000 to 5,000 left.  
"We're putting our reputations on the line and holding  ourselves accountable 
that we can grow tiger numbers," said Alan  Rabinowitz, who directs WCS big 
cat programs. "At the same time, we have  the knowledge, expertise and track 
record to accomplish this goal." 
The plan: Work closely with local governments and other  partners to gain 
baseline knowledge on tigers in the dozen locations and  step up anti-poaching 
efforts. 
In India's Western Ghats region, the tiger population  could increase 60 
percent, the researchers predict. In sites in Laos and  Cambodia, where possibly 
as few as ten tigers remain, numbers could  quadruple over the next decade. 
WCS trustee Michael Cline and Tom Kaplan, both of the  Panthera Foundation, 
pledged $10 million over ten years to help fund the  initiative. 
"I am most interested in supporting efforts that will get  results," Cline 
said. "WCS's Tiger's Forever initiative has brought  together two key 
initiatives – superb people armed with an understanding  of what it takes to save 
tigers. In an area where there have been many  disappointments, I am betting that 
Tigers Forever will get  results."
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