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A Big Home for the Big Cats

Last Wednesday, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced that Myanmar, an Asian country once known as Burma, has created the world's largest tiger reserve. The 8,000-square-mile Hukawng Valley Tiger Reserve is now the home of about 150 endangered Indo-Chinese tigers. The area is the size of Vermont. If the reserve is well protected, it may have 10 times as many tigers in the future.

Alan Rabinowitz, WCS director of science and exploration, says, "This area could contain the largest [connected] population of tigers in the world and help seed other potential tiger habitats that have already lost this magnificent animal."

Based at the Bronx Zoo, in New York City, the WCS worked with the Myanmar Forest Department for more than five years to create the reserve. It is in a wilderness that was once called the Valley of Death, because thousands of people died there during World War II.

At the end of the 19th century, as many as 100,000 tigers roamed across Asia. But hunting and habitat loss have taken a large toll. The WCS and Myanmar hope that the reserve will help the big cats make a comeback. "The Valley of Death is now the valley of life for tigers," says Rabinowitz.

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