Airdate: Tigerland

Animal Planet documentary, Tigerland, sounds the alarm on the race to save the tiger from extinction.

Directed by Academy Award winning directors Fisher Stevens and Ross Kauffman it tells the story of the ambitious effort to double the wild tiger population by 2022.

A hundred years ago, the tiger population exceeded 100,000. Today, there are less than 4,000 in the wild, making them the largest feline predators at risk as they face multiple threats from poaching, habitat loss and fragmentation, conflict with humans and overhunting of their prey species. This staggering reality cannot be ignored, and in 2016 Project C.A.T. (Conserving Acres for Tigers) was launched – an initiative between Discovery and World Wildlife Fund US (WWF-US) that has preserved nearly two million acres of habitat in India and Bhutan to protect and increase the wild tiger population. Now, Project C.A.T. has its sights set on a 3.7 million acre site in Russia’s Bikin National Park.

Tigerland is the story of humankind’s relationship with one of the world’s most revered creatures. Half a century ago, in the jungles of India, a young forest officer rallied the world to save tigers from extinction. Today, the creed is carried on in Far East Russia by the guardians of the last Siberian tigers. The 2-hour documentary follows the journeys of these remarkable activists who through sheer force of will and determination have dedicated their lives to altering the fate of the tiger.

Sunday 31 March at 7.30pm on Animal Planet