Nearly 200 abandoned tigers and lions rescued 0:57
(CNN Spanish) --
The list of animals in danger of extinction grows every year without exception, reminding us of the deadly effects of the human footprint on Earth.
However, this year also brought good news: there are more tigers in the wild than previously believed.
New figures from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reveal that there are currently between 3,726 and 5,578 in the wild, an increase of 40% from the previous count. dates from 2015.
IUCN claims that the change is the result of improved monitoring actions, but adds another piece of hope: the number of tigers worldwide appears to be stable or increasing.
"Recovery (of the species) is possible as long as conservation efforts continue," the organization says, warning that tigers are still considered an "endangered" species in their categorization.
The threats to these spectacular animals are well known: poaching of tigers and their prey and habitat destruction as a result of agricultural activity and human settlement.
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Tigers, in fact, can live in very diverse habitats that include savannahs, tropical forests, grasslands and even mangroves, according to WWF.
And yet, 93% of the area they have historically occupied disappeared precisely because of human action.
The way to save them, that the conservation organization reminds, does not need new tools either.
It mainly involves increasing protected areas and connecting them with each other to the best of their ability and ensuring that they are managed effectively.
The tigers in 5 figures
The tigers measure between one and three meters and weigh between 100 and 300 kilos, according to WWF.
They live 15 years on average.
Females usually give birth to between two and three cubs after a gestation period that lasts four months.
Of the nine tiger subspecies that existed today, only six remain: Bengal, Amur, South China, Malayan, Indochinese, and Sumatran.
And there is a fact about their fur that many do not know: each tiger has a unique stripe, different from that of its fellow species.
A staggering number of pet tigers
Last year, WWF revealed a startling comparison: There were nearly 5,000 captive tigers in the United States, more than the number then estimated to remain in the wild globally.
Today, in light of the new data, the number is still staggering.
Of that total in captivity, only about 6% are in accredited zoos, according to the organization.
The rest inhabit spaces such as backyards, small theme parks, roadside attractions, or breeding facilities.
The private ownership of these big cats has been criticized for a long time by animal advocates, but the truth is that, due to existing regulations, in many states it is legal to keep them as pets.
Bad news for the monarch butterfly
The IUCN report did raise alarms about the monarch butterfly, which it placed on the list of species at risk of extinction.
The native population has decreased between 22% and 72% during the last decade and the western population has decreased 99.9% between the 1980s and 2021, according to the organization.
"The monarch is the only butterfly known to make a two-way migration like birds, according to the US Forest Service. Each winter, monarchs living in eastern North America migrate to the Sierra Madre mountains in Mexico, and those from the west migrate to coastal regions of California, according to the federal agency. Those migrations have been a bystander event in the past," explains Madeleine Holcombe in this CNN article.
The increase in temperatures due to climate change and the disappearance of habitats threaten the species, according to the agency.
There is hope, though: Actions like promoting the growth of the milkweed they feed on, reducing pesticides in areas where they are found, and keeping forests dense could help keep the species alive.
With information from CNN's Faith Karimi and Madeleine Holcombe.
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