Pixiq

As 2010 – the year of the Tiger in the Chinese lunar calendar – draws to a close, it is timely to consider the status of this most regal of the big cats. With three of the subspecies of tigers – Balinese, Caspian and Javan already extinct ­– the WWF now estimate the total world population of wild tigers is marginally above 3000. Almost twice as many languish in zoos and tiger parks around the world. During the International Tiger Conservation Forum held in Russia early his month, WWF committed to spend USD 50 million over the next five years on tiger conservation.

The best place to see tigers in the wild is India, but even though many reserves have been set up to help conserve the tiger, numbers have been dwindling. The largest of all tigers is the Amur or Siberian tiger, which occurs in Russia Far East and in northeast China.  Wild tigers in China now live an even more precarious existence than giant pandas, with an estimated total of 37-50 tigers in the whole country. Tiger bones have for long been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine and although it is now illegal to kill tigers in China, some animals get smuggled over the border from both Russia and India.

Siberian tigers are kept and bred on tiger farms in the extreme north east of China where winter temperatures plummet to –22ºF (–30ºC).  You are driven in clapped out old buses, with open windows (although these have to be closed if a tiger gets too close) and no heating, to a large enclosure via an entrance with huge double metal gates.

The Amur tiger is well adapted for surviving severe winters, with a layer of fat on the flanks and belly and a special winter coat with long, thick fur. Outsized paws function like snowshoes and thick pads help to fend off the cold. The only way I could survive for hours outside was to dress in layers. I ended up with so many; I looked like a Michelin lady. As you breathe out, your breath freezes instantly on the camera (and on tigers faces overnight) If you hands get too cold, you can no longer move a finger to trigger the camera shutter.

It was a couple of years since I was last there and because it is now illegal to kill tigers in China, they had more than doubled in numbers. Although it was possible to erect a tripod in the bus, because the tigers sometimes moved very fast, I preferred to hand-hold a Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 200-400mm f/4 lens.

Tigers the world over are not only threatened by habitat destruction and fragmentation, but also by inbreeding, hunting, poaching and sparse prey. At this eleventh hour, huge efforts and great expenditure are being made to help redress the balance of an animal revered the world over. Hopefully, the status of wild tigers in China will have improved by 2022 – the next Year of the Tiger – otherwise the demise of all Chinese tigers will be fast approaching. The aim to double the world tiger population by 2022 is indeed a daunting task. But here photographs can be such a vital tool in helping to draw people's attention to the plight of an animal which we have seen the population crash by 95% since 1900.

Our Chinese friends were very thrilled to learn our first grandchild had been born in the Year of the Tiger, as apparently this means he will be strong, valiant and respected.