Of all the big cats, tigers are the closest to extinction. These majestic predators are on the brink of extinction, with only a few thousand left in the wild. And the fact is that illegal hunting, deforestation and destruction of its natural habitat, as well as the decrease in its natural prey, has made that some subspecies have already disappeared from the face of the Earth. This is the case of the Javan tiger, the Caspian tiger or the Bali tiger.

The Amur tiger, the Bengal tiger, the Indochinese tiger, the South China tiger, the Malayan tiger and the Sumatran tiger still survive. The latter is the subspecies that BIOPARC Fuengirola has housed for twenty years. The protection of these felines is a massive project that brings together people from all over the world to try to save them, through both 'ex situ' and 'in situ' conservation programs.

Sumatran tigers face imminent extinction if work is not done to prevent it and this is confirmed by the latest records of the subspecies. Five years ago, official counts indicated that there were fewer than 400 specimens in the wild; figures that, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), are continually decreasing.

This, July 29 and International Tiger Day, BIOPARC Fuengirola wants to commemorate this day by alerting about the urgent need to protect this species and especially, the Sumatran subspecies, the only tiger that still lives in Indonesia after the Bali and Java tigers became extinct in the 20th century.

Although the tiger is a protected animal practically throughout the Asian continent and international conservation programs focus on its conservation, of the six subspecies that exist today, three are in danger of extinction and the other three are critically endangered. threatened. The most affected is that of the Sumatran tiger.

20 years working in Sumatran tiger conservation

BIOPARC Fuengirola is one of the two parks that host this subspecies in Spain. Today you can see a pair of Sumatran tigers, Kerinci and Harau, specimens that are part of the European Endangered Species Program (EEP) of the EAZA for this subspecies, in which Bioparc has participated since 2002.

In addition to the conservation and reproduction programs on the different continents, there is a global management program for Sumatran tigers in order to guarantee a large and genetically healthy population so that, when it is feasible to release specimens in their natural habitat, to be able to develop a reintroduction program.

The few Sumatran tigers left in the wild face three threats: poaching, habitat destruction and the decline of their natural prey.. The growing demand for tiger bones for traditional Asian medicine is constantly increasing pressure from poachers. Human action fragments and reduces its habitat while reducing its prey. Wild populations will only survive if local people take an interest in tigers and fight for their survival.

Research to ensure well-being and preserve your instincts

For animal parks like BIOPARC Fuengirola, this mission is made up of three essential pillars: conservation, education and research. An example of this is the project developed by the Zoology team at Bioparc Fuengirola, a study through which they aim to understand the behavior and needs of the Sumatran tiger specimens it houses.

Studying the animals closely allows the Zoology team to improve management, as well as their breeding, well-being and feeding. To do this, they have been observing Kerinci and Harau's behavior daily and for months, in order to make sure that the spaces they occupy meet their needs and enhance their natural instincts, in addition to perfecting the way to guarantee their well-being.