At least two tigers killed each week: WWF

At least two wild tigers are killed through poaching each week, the World Wild Fund for Nature said on Wednesday, a day after Global Tiger Day.

Michael Baltzer, head of WWF Tigers Alive Initiative, said it was difficult to know the precise number of wild tigers in the world, as some countries are yet to count how many they have. The Tiger Summit in 2010 said the number was 3,200, but this was only an estimate.

Baltzer said according to the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network, at least 1,590 tigers were caught by poachers from January 2000 to April 2014, which means that on average at least two tigers were killed every week.

The WWF urged countries to survey their tiger population, saying that each wild tiger can be recognized by its own unique stripes.

The organization has set a goal of doubling the tiger population. Shi Quanhua, a WWF project manager, said forests in northeast China could be a favorable region to reach the goal.