VIETNAM

Given the pace ofdevelopment and the concurrent c1cstructionofforestsin Vietnam, the Indochinatiger (Panthera tigris corbetti)could well be on the path ofextinction. The dwindlingnumbers of these tigerscould be attributed to con-tinned hunting, poachingand destruction of Vietnam'salready denuded forests. Aliadditional threat to thespecies is the heavy clernandfor various parts of the tigermade by traditional Chinesemedicine. 'I lie Indochinatiger is one of the mostendangered of the fiveremaining sub-species. Wildlife experts have warnedthat there are less than 100 ofthese tigers left ill Vietnam.and only an estimated 1,500of their, are to be found inthe jungles of I aos, Cambodia, Thailand and Burma.According to the WorldWide Fund for Nature(WWF), one tiger it week iskilled in these regions. WWFofficials in the US are chalking out a strategy to save theIndochina tiger by collatinginformation on the animal.