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A group of conservationists announced Wednesday that Indochine tigers, once prevalent in the forests of Cambodia, are now "functionally extinct."
The World Wide Fund for Nature said in a statement that part of the reason for the extinction is the intensive poaching of tigers and their prey in the area.
“Today, there are no longer any breeding populations of tigers left in Cambodia, and they are therefore considered functionally extinct,” the WWF added.
Yellow shows tiger’s historic range, red illustrates their 2008. | Photo: WWF
In 2007, a tiger was seen on camera for the last time in the eastern Mondulkiri province.
In an attempt to reintroduce the big cats to the region, the Cambodian government approved a plan in which a large extension of land was se aside in the far east for two male and five to six female tigers, which are to be protected so they can reproduce.
Conservationists agreed with the plan, and said that "weak law enforcement" was responsible for the extinction of the species, said Suwanna Gauntlett, of the Wildlife Alliance.
In 2010, various Asian countries including Indonesia, China, Malaysia and Nepal have agreed to double the population of tigers in their countries by 2022.
The Tiger population has been drastically reduced to 2,154 across Asia, mainly due to poaching and deforestation.
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