ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)

[peter]

WILD TIGERS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA - THE SITUATION IN 2019

a - Introduction

Before continuing with the series on Mr. Limouzin's skull, I decided for a post on wild tigers in southeast Asia. The reason is I read a number of newspaper articles and papers recently. Although those interested in the natural world no doubt read some of these articles, most people in Europe and the USA are not aware of the situation in southeast Asia. They should be, as the news is far from good.  

b - Sources

This post, a result of quite a bit of work, is based on nine articles. Apart from the first, all were published this year (2019):

1 - 'Tiger farms still operate in Laos, defying trafficking bans' (19-01-2018, Radion Free Asia)
2 - 'Vietnamese crime syndicats target Thailand's last tigers' (24-01-2019, The Guardian, R. Austin)
3 - 'How China's WeChat became a grim heart of illegal animal trading' (11-03-2019, Wired.UK, P. Yeung) 
4 - 'Malaysia arrests Vietnam poachers, seizes tiger, bear parts' (16-04-2019, https://phys.org/news/2019/04)
5 - 'Tiger poaching remains a threat to the iconic predators' (18-04-2019, Sustainability Times, D.T. Cross)
6 - 'Poachers fined RM 1,56 mil, the biggest yet for wildlife crime' (16-05-2019, Star Online)
7 - 'SE Asia's tigers hit hard by tourism, captive breeding' (21-06-2019, Asian Times, J. Pollard)
8 - 'Poaching Facts - Truths from the front-line' (26-10-2019, http://www.poachingfacts.com)
9 - 'How Laos lost its tigers' (28-10-2019, Mongabay, J. Hance)

I selected three articles to write the post, but used photographs published in some of the others as well. Apart from the articles mentioned above, I read numerous others as well as a few papers and reports, all published this year. The information in this post is both up-to-date and reliable. 

Those interested in wild tigers won't enjoy reading this post, but they also know the world is changing real fast these days. What, tigernumberwise, was true a decade ago, is outdated today. Reliable and accurate information is needed to understand the situation and get to decisions. And decisions are needed. In most of Southeast Asia, the future doesn't look good.      

c - Bangkok tiger forum 2019 (J. Pollard, Asian Times, 21-06-2019)

In June this year, a panel of tiger experts outlined the status of tigers. Here's a photograph showing some of the participants:

*This image is copyright of its original author

c1 - The number of wild tigers in southeast Asia

According to Tim Redford, a program director and wildlife veteran with Freeland Foundation, the outlook in Thailand and neighbouring countries, to put it mildly, is disturbing. In Cambodja, Laos and Vietnam, there are either no tigers or viable breeding populations. In northern Myanmar, less than 5 tigers remain.

In India, thanks to strong government policies (such as proper funding of national parks) and good work of by forest and conservation groups, the number of wild tigers had risen to about 2,200. Even so, 51 tigers were poached in India in the first 5 months of this year (2019).

Here's a bit more on tiger mortality in India (source: -b-, article -8-). In the period 2011-2017, at least 106 tigers, and perhaps as much as 223, were poached. According to Redford, 51 were added in the first five months of this year. As only few traffickers are caught, the real number is significantly higher:

*This image is copyright of its original author

c2 - Main threats

The main threats for tigers are infrastructure projects (like China's Belt and Road Initiative) and social media. Infrastructure projects will divide forests into small fragments and social media " ... is guiding poachers into areas where they (tigers) are ... ". Poachers are traveling from Vietnam to Sumatra and Malaysia to hunt tigers. In Laos and Cambodja " ... we see the poachers writing on trees, marking out their territory ... ".

In European newspapers, you can find articles about the methods used by rangers to discourage poachers. Although it's true that locals have been treated in a harsh way in some cases, " ... people forget that at least 150 rangers are killed every year - that's three a week - by poachers in parks and sanctuaries around the world ... ".

c3 - Thailand

Thailand's Department of National Parks is doing a very good job. The Thai government recently upgraded the 27-year old Wildlife Preservation Act. The new act will come into force in a few months. The new law " ... has tougher penalties and the option for civil cases - fines of up to 2 million bath (almost $65,000) for loss of biodiversity, and up to 10 years in jail for people convicted of serious wildlife crimes ... ".

Thai rangers are well-trained. Here's a photograph of an elite ranger group ('Hasadin'):

*This image is copyright of its original author

But tourism is a problem. According to Wiek, founder and director of the Wildlife Friends Foundation in Thailand, there are " ... more than 44 places with tigers and they're often kept in small cages. He showed a short video of a tourist poking a tiger with a stick at one attraction ... ".

c4 - CITES

Although CITES (the world body overseeing the trade in wildlife and flora) called for an end to the captive breeding of tigers in 2007, the non-binding resolution was, and still is, opposed by a number of Asian countries. In Thailand and Laos alone, there are 69 facilities today. Many conservationists regard these 'facilities' as safe-houses for illegal wildlife trading. They are " ... linked to a huge trade in lion and tiger bones ... ". Most products are sold to Vietnamese and Chinese tourist for considerable sums.

Here's a photograph of a tiger farm in China:

*This image is copyright of its original author

 
c5 - Value

In the end, it is, as always, about money. According to Chris Perkin, the regional manager for Thailand and central Asia for the UK Border Force, the British government takes wildlife crimes very seriously, " ... because it is a major facet of organized crime, worth more than $21 billion a year globally ... ".

d - Sin City (P. Yeung, Wired.UK, 11-03-2019)

d1 - Bokeo

The region of Bokeo in northern Laos is a 10,000-hectare special economic zone in northern Laos. Owned by the notorious Hong Kong firm Kings Romans since 2007, the complex, three times the size of Macau, offers " ... a slew of hotels and shops, a zoo, a shooting range and thousands of immigrant workers who live in spartan, on-site dormitories. Most visitors drive from the nearby Chinese province of Yunnan, or fly to northern Thailand and cross the Mekong on speedboats, to wager piles of money in air-conditioned silence for 24 hours a day, seven days a week ... ".

Apart from the narcotics business, the region is also a hotbed for the illegal wildlife trade. In a 2015 report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Bokeo was described as a 'lawless playground' that functioned as a kind of 'illegal wildlife supermarket'. This although Laos joined an agreement in 2004 (referring to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Animal Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as CITES).

d2 - Sanctions

It resulted in US santions, which " ... froze all assets under its jurisdiction and identified four key individuals, including casineo owner Zhao Wei, as part of a network that engaged in 'horrendous illicit activities' including drugs production, child protitution, and wildlife trafficking ... ".

After the sanctions, the cages and crowds more or less disappeared. But not quite, says Debbie Banks, campaign leader for tiger and wildlife crime at the Environmental Investigation Agency:  " ... I would say it's gone under the counter - not underground. These illegal traders and wildlife criminals are all using social media. Once you connect with them, there's a world of wildlife products ... ".

Banks, a zoologist by training and a leading figure in the battle against wildlife trafficking, spent more than two decades uncovering the trade in Europe, the USA and Japan and led key investigations in China and Tibet in 2005 and then Bokeo, Laos, in 2015. She " ... witnessed a cosmetic law enforcement response to our findings, she says of the latter (Laos). In 2014 or 2015, I could walk about the special economic zone and see tiger skins, stuffed tigers, ivory tusks, ivory carvings, rhino horn shavings, menus with sauteed tiger meat and bone wine. But no one was actually prosecuted or arrested ... ".    

d3 - Poaching

The decrease in the number of wild tigers is mainly a result of poaching, " ... largely due to rocketing demand from China, where some people consider wearing, displaying, or consuming tiger products a coveted status symbol. Years of double-digit growth has equipped China's middle class with money to spend ... ". On the supply side, " ... the incentives are obvious. A pair of illegal rhino horns can be bought for $167 in Africa, according to research by international wildlife investigators. Once carved and delivered to the right market, they could be worth some $60,000 - 400 times the original price. The illegal wildlife trade is worth an estimated $20 billion ... ".

Here's a photograph showing parts of cats seized by the US Fish and Wildlife Service Law Enforcement, US National Wildlife Property Repository (photograph Wendy Worrell Redal, 2015):

*This image is copyright of its original author

d4 - Laos

Transportation trafficking routes often pass " ... through Laos, which shares somewhat porous borders with China, Vietnam, and Thailand. Jaguar is poached from Latin America and lion from Africa to be sold as tigers at places like the San Jiang market in the Laotian capital Vientiane. Laos is a crucial part of the supply chain, says Steven Galster, director of the Bangkok-based Freeland Foundation. But the country has received several sanctions for failing to enforce CITES regulations. 'It's a systematic problem', says a wildlife expert in southeast Asia, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. There's no proactivity, follow-through or long term planning by the Laos government ... ".

d5 - Social media

Another potentially greater issue is that traffickers are adopting more sophisticated methods: " ... Most shops hide their products, do deals behind closed doors and have exclusive meetings with tourist groups', the expert says. 'We need to monitor the social media accounts now. I know dozens WeChat accounts with illegal product for sale. Every week they'll show stock. There are so many rhino horns ... ".

WeChat, which recently reached one billion monthly users (...), is difficult to police. Bingchun Meng, professor of media and communication at the London School of Economics, doesn't think it will be regulated in the near future. Although an international coalition of tech companies, including Facebook, Microsoft and Tencent, aim to reduce wildlife trafficking online by 80 percent by 2020, experts are cynical.

d6 - The situation today

For now, confusion reigns. " ... 'The lack of clarity does not help the wildlife enforcement authorities to do their job', says Gabriel Fava of the Born Free Foundation. 'We almost immediately heard of contacts in west Bengal being approached for tigers. It's not helped by the wilful obfuscation by Chinese authorities - perhaps they're trying to hide their real intentions behind conservation claims'. The continued existence of tiger farms in Laos is a bone of contention, fuelling the belief that powerful interest groups are perpetuating the illegal wildlife trade. 'There's been a very persistent, large industrial body ... that has been lobbying for this a number of years', adds campaigner Debbie Banks ...".

Captive tigers are showing up in the illegal trade. " ... Estimates by the EIA, ..., suggest that 38 per cent of live, frozen, and taxidermied tigers seized by law enforcement between 2010 and mid-2018 were from captive sources like tiger farms ... ".   
      
e - Laos (J. Hance, Mongabay, 28-10-2019)

e1 - Tigers in Nam-Et Phou Louey National Protected Area

This Protected Area is a National Park more than half the size of Jamaica and covered in thick forest. Headed by WCS Laos, " ... conservation groups spent between $150,000 and $200,000 annually from 2009 to 2012, according to Rasphone (Akchousanh Rasphone, with the Wildlife Conservation Unit, is a lead author at the University of Oxford). The money came from international donors such as the World Bank, USFWS, and the French Development Agency (AFD) ... " (pp. 8).

Here's a nice photograph of Nam-Et Phou Louey:

*This image is copyright of its original author

According to Troy Hansel, the former Laos country director for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) " ... funding and resources for Nam-Et Phou Louey came 'too little too late ... to secure the tiger population ... " (pp. 8).

A National Park in Laos half the size of Jamaica and no tigers? Yes: " ... In 2003 and 2004, conservationists believed there were at least seven tigers in Nam-Et Phou Louey and maybe up to 23. But by 2013, researchers found only two tigers on camera trap. And no tiger has been seen since. Rasphone and her collegues systematically surveyed the park from 2013 to 2017 with camera traps in what they describe as the largest endeavor of its kind ever conducted in Laos. Their survey found no leopards at all; the last one was recorded in 2004. And the last two tigers simply vanished after 2013 ... " (pp. 3,4).  

Arlene Johnson, also a former country director of WCS Laos, said " ... other species 'definitely benefited' from tiger funding as her research in 2016 showed an increase in ungulates in the park ... " (pp. 11). But all leopard and tigers are gone. " ... The loss of leopards and tigers has restructured the park's carnivore hierarchy to potentially benefit the next biggest carnivore: dholes ... " (pp. 11).  

e2 - Government

In Laos, " ... protected areas and species conservation are not a high priority for the government. Protected area managers do not have even an official stamp and have lower authority than district authorities ... ". According to an anonymous source " ... Nam-Et Phou Louey was never 'seriously recognized' by the three provincial governments that overlapped with the national park, and the national government, due to the decentralization of protected areas, took little notice ... " (pp. 13).

One of the results was that poachers were rarely " ... arrested and convicted ... " (pp. 9). On top of that, Laos does not have career rangers. Patrols in Nam-Et Phou Louey were largely " ... made up of a motley crew of government employees, volonteers, military, and villagers ... " (pp. 10). Meaning experienced poachers can do as they please.

e3 - Snares

Rasphone thinks the money (see -e1-) " ... 'definitely helped' stop gun-toting poachers' - gun confiscations increased with the rise of funding -  but did not 'stop the exponential increase in snaring' ... " (pp. 8). According to Arlene Johnson " ... the increased snaring likely resulted from local hunters changing techniques to more effectively target tigers. Snares were not common until Vietnamese and Chinese traders from outside the area began providing local hunters with this gear ... " (pp.9).

Jessica Hartel, director of the Kibale Snare Removal Program in Uganda, is very clear about the effects of snaring: " ... Snares are the landmines of the forest. Like landmines, snares do not discriminate, are virtually undetectable, and can cause irreversible permanent fysical damage within a split second. Like landmines, snares are unforgiving death traps that cause pain, suffering and mutilation. Like landmines, snares are detonated automatically by way of pressure from the animals stepping into or through it ... " (pp. 5,6). 

Big cats like leopards and tigers in particular are vulnarable. With " ... only a handful of tigers to begin with, it only takes a few encounters with snares to kill off an entire population. Ditto for leopards ... " (pp. 6).

Research from last year in 'Biological Conservation' found that " ... wildlife rangers removed more than 200,000 snares from just five protected areas in Southeast Asia, including Nam-Et Phou Louey, over five years ... " (pp. 7). According to Thomas Gray, lead author of the paper published in 'Biological Conservation' and science director for the Wildlife Alliance, " ... even the best-trained rangers would only find a third of the snares planted in protected areas - and rangers in Nam-Et Pouh Louey were not the best ... " (pp. 7).

Here's photograph I found in the article of Mongabey (see -b-, article -9-):

*This image is copyright of its original author

e4 - Status of the Indochinese tiger today

It's more than likely that millions of snares " ... blanket Southeast Asia's protected areas ... " (pp. 8). As a result, tigers have all but disappeared. In 2010, " ... conservationists estimated 20 tigers in Cambodia (now extinct), 20 in Vietnam (also extinct), and 17 in Laos (alas, extinct). Thailand and Myanmar remain the only countries that likely house any semblance of a reproducing wild population. At the time, researchers believed there may be 352 Indochinese tigers left. If today it's below 250, it would qualify for critically endangered status ... " (pp. 12).   
 
f - Summary

f1 - Years of double-digit growth equipped China's middle class with money to spend. As wearing, displaying or consuming tiger products is regarded as a coveted status symbol, the demand for tiger products has skyrocketed. On the supply side, the incentives are obvious. In Africa, a pair of rhino horns is available for less than $200. Once carved and delivered to the right market, they're sold for $60,000 (400 times the original price). 

Here's a photograph of illegal ivory products destroyed in China:

*This image is copyright of its original author

f2 - The illegal wildlife trade is worth an estimated $20 billion. A lot of money, that is. As money always is decisive, legislation only isn't going to change the situation. Not in countries where many people struggle to make a living. Law enforcement can affect trafficking to a degree, but training and equipping rangers is a costly and time-consuming affair. The problem is donors are not that keen on funding regular patrols. One reason is they don't want to be connected to the consequences of violence.

Violence? I'm afraid so. In countries that have well-stocked reserves and national parks, chances are rangers will be confronted by well-armed poachers sooner or later. These confrontations are far from friendly. Every week, 3 rangers are killed by poachers.

I never read anything about rangers shot by poachers in newspapers. When villagers entering a protected reserve in order to feed their cattle are discouraged to do so in a somewhat clumsy way, however, they (referring to articles I read in Dutch newspapers) can make headlines. If a ranger doing his job (or acting in self-defence) shoots a poacher, he can expect both a bad press and serious legal problems. When a ranger accepting a bribe (most rangers are seriously underpaid) is caught, however, he can expect quite a bit of understanding.

Meaning patrols have limited value. In Thailand and Laos, poachers are so confident that they write on trees, " ... marking out their territories ... " (see -b-, article -7-, pp. 2). Also meaning endangered wild animals are basically on their own. As a result, many species are very close to extinction.

Here's a photograph that was published in The Guardian (see -b-, article -2-) in January this year. It was found on one of the phones of two men arrested in Thailand about a year ago. The two, members of a Vietnam-based syndicate, tried to transport (the remains of) a tiger they had poached in Thailand. Thai authorities " ... are still trying to establish the identity of the poacher in the photograph, believing he and others are behind previous killings of tigers and other wildlife at the behest of crime syndicats ..." (see -b-, article 2):

*This image is copyright of its original author

f3 - Based on what's known (referring to both research and newspaper reports), it's clear that those interested in tiger products in China are funding the illegal wildlife trade. This means Chinese nationals most probably lead crime syndicats involved in trafficking in some way or another. The articles and papers I read suggest most of these syndicats operate in Vietnam. 

Not a few convicted poachers are Vietnamese nationals. In Thailand (referring to -b-, article -2-), Malaysia (referring to -b-, article -6-), Laos (see -b-, article 9, pp. 9), and, most probably, Cambodia and Sumatra, these representatives of syndicats fund and supply locals to help them find tigers and transport the carcasses (or the bones) to Vietnam. Later, the (dressed) remains are transported to Laos and China. In China, traders use social media (and WeChat in particular) to inform those interested in tiger products. Tiger products are also sold in Bokeo, a large 'special economic zone' in northern Laos.

Although Laos, a " ... crucial part of the supply chain ... " (see -b-, article -3-), and a number of individuals heavily involved in trafficking were hit by US sanctions in January 2019 (see -b-, article -3-), there's still " ... no proactivity, follow-through or long-term planning by the Laos government ... " (see -b-, article -3-). Meaning the effect of sanctions is limited. 

f4 - As a result of the growing demand for tiger products and the limited number of wild tigers, the Chinese decided to breed tigers in facilities now known as 'tiger-farms' some time ago. Although directors deny tigers bred on their 'farms' are sold to traders, experts disagree: " ... Estimates of the EIA, which take the circumstances of trafficking and condition of skin into consideration, suggest that 38 per cent of live, frozen, and taxidermied tigers seized by law enforcement between 2010 and mid-2018 were from captive sources like tiger farms ... " (see -b-, article 9).

Experts also think that quite a few tigers displayed in (dozens of) zoo-like facilities in China, Laos and Thailand end up in shops sooner or later. Apart from that, tourism is becoming a massive problem. Thailand " ... featured prominently in a report by National Geographic this month (June 2019) on the 'dark side of wildlife tourism' with pictures of distressed animals at a notorious crocodile farm and zoo near Bangkok, which caters to busloads of Chinese tourists, plus other sites which activists say should be improved so tigers, elephants and other animals enjoy less onerous conditions ... " (see -b-, article 7).

f5 - Conservation starts at the level of politics. In Russia, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand and Malaysia, conservation is on the agenda of politicians. The result is these countries still have tigers. In Russia, India and Nepal, the number of wild tigers has even increased in the last years.

Here's well-known photograph posted before. It shows Mr. Putin, the President of the Russian Federation, and a number of researchers and rangers close to a darted wild Amur tigress. I know Amur tigers are different from Indochinese tigers, but it is about the message. The photograph says Mr. Putin is interested in the natural world, in conservation and in tigers. This is what those involved in conservation and fighting traffickers need. Compare his message regarding conservation to the one on endangered wild animals recently left by the American President. It makes a difference: 

*This image is copyright of its original author

China is a leading force in Asia. In October 2019, she stunned the international community by reversing a 25-year old ban on using tiger bones and rhinoceros horn for scientific and medical purposes. As a result of a wave of protests, the change was " ... postponed after study ... " (see -b-, article 3).

At the moment, the intentions in the department of conservation are unclear. If the Chinese authorities would take a clear position regarding conservation, it no doubt would have an impact on politicians in neighbouring countries like Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.  

f6 - In 2010, conservationists thought Southeast Asia had 300-400 wild tigers. Today, the tiger is extinct in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Only Thailand, Malaysia and, perhaps, the southern part of Myanmar have wild tigers. Jeremy Hance, the author of 'How Laos lost its tigers' (see -b-, article 9), talked to a number tiger authorities. They think there are less than 250 wild tigers in Malaysia, Thailand and the southern part of Myanmar. This means Panthera tigris corbetti now is 'critically endangered'.

g - Members of Wildfact

Those of us able to find reliable information about impressive wild tigers in, for example, India not seldom add details about their whereabouts. According to Tim Redford, a program director and wildlife veteran with Freeland Foundation, " ... social media is guiding poachers into areas where they (tigers) are ... " (see -b-, article 7, pp. 2). 

Those involved in trafficking no doubt know about forums like Wildfact. The big cat department (referring to the extinction threads in particular) of Wildfact is well-developed and offers a lot of good information. Our advice is to keep this in mind.

Our aim is to contribute to more awareness about the plight of those making their home in the natural world. We want to inform the general public about the beauty of this forgotten world. Apex predators like tigers do not 'live' in documentaries and fancy magazines. They're very real and so are the national parks and reserves where they make their home. 

If we are unable to stop poaching, the result, at best, will be a few bones here and there. Here's a photograph of a poached tiger (2007, V. Menon):

*This image is copyright of its original author

    
If we're able to overcome the problems discussed in this post, chances are wild tigers will quickly recover. This family was discovered in the eastern part of Thailand only a few years ago:

*This image is copyright of its original author

Here's a male Thailand tiger (cameratrap) to finish the post:

*This image is copyright of its original author

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