Historically, it was believed that there were over 100,000 tigers existing in the world. However, the number has been decreasing gradually. In line with this July 29 is observed as Global Tiger Day.
The day is observed to build Tiger conservation by celebrating global tiger day among the tiger range countries.
It was agreed by the member countries during the Asian Ministerial Conference in January.
Based on the 1998 nationwide survey Bhutan has just about 100 Tigers today. The sub-species called Royal Bengal Tiger are found in Bhutan, at an altitude ranging from 300m-4500m above sea level.
The Agriculture and Forests Minister, Lyonpo Dr. Pema Gyamtsho, said that everyone should be concerned about the tiger conservation. “Tigers are at the top of the food chain. If we conserve Tiger we are actually conserving the whole eco-system,” said the Minister.
The officials from Nature Conservation Division says although there is no records of poaching activities in the country other threats like human Tiger conflict and habitat fragmentation still exists.
Today, Tigers are found in 13 Tiger Range Asian countries, including Russia. Currently, there are only about 3,200 Tigers globally.