A wildlife book aimed at raising funds to safeguard tigers across the world will be officially launched at the Royal Geographical Society.
Remembering Tigers is the latest in a series of photographic books documenting threatened animals like rhinos and elephants, and is being supported by former England cricket captain and animal conservationist Kevin Pietersen.
The series has donated more than £1.1 million to worldwide conservation projects in a bid to help protect a range of animals.
Margot Raggett, founder and producer of the Remembering Wildlife series, will speak at the launch event on Wednesday, alongside tiger conservationist and author Valmik Thapar, and wildlife photographer and guide Paul Goldstein, who has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds by running 25 marathons dressed as a tiger.
She said: “It’s an oft-quoted fact that there are more tigers in captivity in the US than there are left in the world, a stark reminder of how the future of tigers might end if conservationists do not continue their focus and their fight.
“Tigers are a bellwether for the health of an ecosystem. For every tiger protected in the forest, there are plants, trees, insects, birds and other mammals who thrive.”
Weighing up to 260kg and measuring up to three metres in length, the tiger is the largest of the big cats.
It is found in Asia, from India through to eastern Russian and into China, and its habitat ranges from sub-tropical forests to snow-covered mountainous terrain. However, it is listed as “endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Threats include loss of habitat, illegal hunting for the Chinese medicinal trade, widespread killing of their prey for bushmeat, and retaliation for attacks on humans and livestock.
Mr Thapar has dedicated his life to following the big cats and his documentary My Tiger Family, a 50-year story of an Indian tiger clan, was screened on the BBC earlier this summer.
He has written the foreword to the new book and said: “I hope Remembering Tigers, with its wonderful pictures, inspires a passion in those who see it and stirs them to new heights in order that this magnificent predator continues to walk our planet.”
The book was published on Monday and features stunning images donated by many of the world’s leading wildlife photographers, including Art Wolfe, Jonathan and Angela Scott and Greg du Toit, with the cover image taken by Sarah Skinner.
All profits from the sale of Remembering Tigers will be donated to organisations working to protect the endangered big cat.
