Asia’s most iconic predator, the tiger, is vanishing.  At the turn of the 20th century, an estimated 100,000 wild tigers inhabited a range extending across Asia. There are only an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 wild tigers left, and a mere seven percent remains of the tiger’s once vast geographic range.

Threatened by habitat loss, diminished prey, human-wildlife conflict, and poaching for its stunning pelt, bones and other body parts, tigers are now classified as Endangered.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) provides solutions to tiger conservation in nine countries where tigers remain and could potentially repopulate: Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Russia, and Thailand. WCS does this by creating protected areas, supporting law enforcement that apprehends poachers, managing prey populations and human activity in tiger habitats, and increasing tiger conservation awareness.

The Oakland Zoo participates in the Hornbill Nest Adoption Project through Thailand's Hornbill Research Foundation, which is led by Dr. Pilai Poonswand. Funding sent to this project helps the foundation collect data on the biological and ecological aspects of these birds, including their important ecological role in dispersing seeds throughout the forest. It is said that the forests need the hornbill as much as the hornbills need the forests!