Welcoming the Year of the Tiger 2010 Feb 14
February 14th is the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year. It is also the beginning of the Chinese Spring Festival, with celebrations and observations by ethnic Chinese and others around the world, welcoming in the Year of the Tiger:
Conservationists are hoping to capitalize on the Year of the Tiger by calling attention to the plight of the endangered big cats.
The number of wild tigers is thought to have dropped from 100,000 at the beginning of the 20th century to fewer than 3,000 today.
In September, the World Bank and Russia will hold a summit on tiger conservation in Vladivostok, encouraging countries that are host to wild tigers to reach agreements to further protect and expand their habitat.
A rare 12-year-old Sumatran tiger named “Trenggani” jumps into the water within its enclosure at Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta, Indonesia on February 12, 2010.
Authorities said there are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers in the rapidly shrinking Indonesian forests from about 1,000 in the 1970s, with 70 in captivity. [Romero Gacad]
People touch a stone sculpture of a tiger at the Baiyun Guan Taoist Temple to pray for good luck in the Chinese Lunar New Year, the Year of the Tiger, in Beijing, China, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010.
Fireworks illuminate the skyline to celebrate the Lantern Festival on February 13, 2010 in Beijing, China. [Feng Li]
A rare 12-year-old Sumatran tiger. I hate reading that verb, ‘rare’.
🎭 