International Tiger Day, History, Significance, Theme

International Tiger Day is celebrated on July 29 every year. This day acts as a crucial reminder about the urgent need to safeguard tigers across the globe. Tigers are more than just majestic creatures, as their presence is crucial for maintaining ecological balance, specifically in Asia. 

Some 100 years ago, Asia was home to nearly 1,00,000 tigers. However, this number has tremendously decreased due to illegal trade, poaching, climate change, and the destruction of their natural habitat. Today, tigers are one of the most endangered species across the world. To combat this situation and prevent this majestic creature from extinction, 13 Tiger range countries come together to spread awareness for their conservation through the International Tiger Day.

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International Tiger Day 2025

International Tiger Day 2025 will be held on Tuesday, July 29. This day highlights the increasing dangers faced by wild tiger populations around the world. International Tiger day is recognized as an important event in the conservation steps. 

On this day, voices from around the world unite to protect this endangered species. It is observed as a time for collaborative action, discussion, and implementation of plans aimed at securing a future for wild tigers.

International Tiger Day 2025 Theme

Every year, International Tiger Day is inspired by a theme that shapes awareness campaigns and conservation steps around the world. For 2025, the Global Tiger Forum, also known as GTF, will reveal the international tiger day theme. 

In 2024, the theme for the International Tiger Day was “Call to Action”, which highlighted the need to take conscious measures for saving tigers. In addition to announcing the slogan, GTF will release the International Tiger Day poster.

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International Tiger Day Started in Which Year?

International Tiger Day was started in 2010 in response to an alarming decline of nearly 97% of the world’s wild tiger population. At that time, it was estimated that only 3,000 tigers were left in the wild. So, with the aim of promoting global awareness and making strategic efforts to save Tigers, the Global Tiger Initiative, or GTI, organised the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit in Russia in 2010. In this summit, 13 tiger range nations, namely India, Russia, Bangladesh, China, Bhutan, Nepal, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia, came together for the cause of conserving wild tigers. 

Today, leading global organizations like IFAW, WWF, and the Smithsonian Institute actively participate in tiger conservation from the following challenges:

• Poaching and Illegal Trade: High demand for tiger bones, skins, and other body parts, resulting in illegal hunting and trafficking.

• Habitat Loss: Expanding human settlements, agriculture, logging, and infrastructure projects reduced natural tiger habitats to just 7% of their original range.

• Human-Wildlife Conflict: As tigers lose their natural habitat, they often stray into human settlements. This often leads to dangerous encounters, and many times, tigers are killed.

• Climate Change: Changing weather patterns and rising temperatures are also a major threat to tiger survival.

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Wild Tiger Population Worldwide

Tigers today occupy only a fraction of the land where they were earlier found. These are restricted to fragmented forest zones and protected reserves. As per the latest figures from the Global Tiger Forum, there are nearly 5,574 wild tigers throughout the world. 

Countries like India, Nepal, and Russia have witnessed notable progress in boosting their tiger numbers. However, other regions are still struggling with severely diminished populations. This uneven result of tiger conservation efforts highlights the urgent need for shared strategies and stronger international cooperation.

Presented below are the country-wise data on the tiger population:

Cambodia is the only nation in the Tiger range that has not recorded sightings of any wild tiger since 2007.

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