EAZA Tiger Campaign extended to 2004 Contents - European ...

Amur tiger © David Higgs
Exciting tiger news from Sumatra
EAZA Tiger Campaign extended to 2004
The EAZA Tiger Campaign is proving to be quite a success:
some 115 participating members are now registered and the first money has already been
transferred to 21st Century Tiger for conservation projects in the field. Thanks to this
cashflow, five of the nine selected tiger projects have already received part of the much
needed funding. We are pleased to announce that 14 certificates, totalling € 65,000, have
been handed out to the zoos that have transferred their collected funds to 21st Century Tiger.
Almost all member zoos participating in the EAZA Tiger Campaign have now launched the campaign activities in their
zoo. Updates on different campaign activities arrive almost daily at the EAZA Executive Office. This section of EAZA
News only contains a selection of these, and we would therefore like to refer to the EAZA website for much more
additional information on the EAZA Tiger Campaign and the activities of our members.
Last but not least: the EAZA Council has decided to extend the duration of the EAZA Tiger Campaign by one more
year; this should allow us to collect over € 250,000, thereby establishing a new record for funds collected in the
framework of an EAZA Conservation Campaign.
Corinne Bos, EAZA Campaign Coordinator
EAZA Tiger Campaign
Photo: Bart Schleyer/ZSL
Now that the EAZA Tiger Campaign is
transmitter, arrived on the scene just
well under way, what better encourage-
before sunrise, and successfully anaesment
for further fundraising could there
thetised the tiger. He appeared in excellent
be than a major success story from the
health and was considerably larger than
field? As a result of funding from 21st
anticipated, giving the team a challenge
Century Tiger and the EAZA Tiger
when it came to weighing him! While
Campaign, ZSL’s ‘Ranging Patterns in
the tiger was asleep, a variety of samples
Sumatran Tigers’, one of the nine projects
and measurements were collected to add
supported by the campaign, has been
to our store of knowledge of wild tigers.
breaking new ground. At the beginning
He was then fitted with a radio collar
of May the ZSL team, working in the
that not only provides the location of the
Jambi province of Sumatra, successfully
animal, but also indicates whether he is
caught and radio collared a Sumatran
resting or moving. Approximately one
tiger. This large Sumatran tiger, the first
hour later the newly collared male was
ever to be radio collared, is a magnificent
on his feet and slowly walking off into the
male weighing 150 kg.
The team with the anaesthetised
tiger just prior to release.
forest. As he was collared some 20 km
from his normal range as indicated by
The aims of this project are to discover how a small popula- the last year’s camera trap pictures, it will be interesting to
tion of tigers is using the human-impacted landscapes in and
around oil palm plantations and logging concessions. In a
see where he goes next.
country where there is ever increasing destruction of natural Regular location fixes are being collected and further capture
habitats and development of agriculture it is important to operations are planned for later in the year. It is estimated
look at the potential for wildlife to exist in those altered that there is a population of at least seven adult tigers in
landscapes.
the area – so far caught only by camera traps, but hopefully
more will be collared in the near future. This way, valuable
The capture was achieved using a humane leghold trap information can be collected on these elusive creatures,
attached to a transmitter which sends out an instant signal helping to safeguard their future.
as soon as the snare is triggered. The team, alerted by the Source: Naomi McClure, 21st Century Tiger
EAZA News 43 – 2003
07
July - August - September