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Save Tigers Now: WWF's campaign for the tiger stars Leonardo DiCaprio
In 2010, the Chinese year of the tiger, American actor and activist Leonardo DiCaprio is on an expedition to tiger habitats across Asia
From the mangroves of India to the edge of the Siberian Taiga down to the island of Sumatra, DiCaprio will travel to witness the shrinking habitat of the wild tiger in Asia. "Inception" actor and activist Leonardo DiCaprio has begun fighting a real life battle for survival on behalf of the tiger and was in Bardiyan national park in western Nepal this month to participate in anti-poaching patrols and meet with park guards on the frontlines of protecting tigers from international traffickers. DiCaprio confirmed to the Hindustan Times that he also has "plans to travel to India to support the cause of tigers."
In late May this year the WWF launched the Save Tigers Now campaign with DiCaprio on board. Their goal: to raise $20 million to double the world's tiger population by 2022, the next Year of the Tiger.
WWF tells us that there are as few as 3,200 tigers left in the wild, "three tiger sub-species have gone extinct since the 1940s and a fourth one, the South China tiger, has not been seen in the wild for 25 years. But tigers can thrive if they have strong protection from poaching and habitat loss and enough prey to eat." Watch the WWF video.
Last week Indonesia hosted a dialogue meeting attended by the 13 tiger range countries (TRCs) -- Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam, as a prelude to the heads of government "Tiger Summit", scheduled to be held in St. Petersburg, Russia from 15-18 September 2010.
The Save Tigers Now website will allow supporters to follow DiCaprio's journey, donate and participate in his campaign. The actor's environmental outreach efforts include the documentary "The 11th Hour" and the award-winning Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.
