India and Cambodia have postponed a plan to reintroduce Bengal tigers into Cambodia, moving the target from 2025 to 2028 after a review found that the available prey base in the proposed release landscape remains too low to support a viable tiger population.
The delay comes months after Mongabay reported concerns among conservation scientists about whether the Cardamom Mountains landscape has sufficient prey to sustain tigers over the long term. Cambodia’s last confirmed tiger was photographed by a camera trap in 2007, and the country formally declared tigers extinct in 2016.
The proposed release site is in the Cardamom Mountains of southwestern Cambodia, in the 926,123-hectare Kravanh National Park. The landscape is among Cambodia’s most intact forest areas, but prey availability has remained a major concern.
A 2020 study assessing the feasibility of tiger reintroduction in the Cardamom Rainforest Landscape found a high risk that prey densities were insufficient to support a viable tiger population. Researchers estimated a less than 25% probability that the area could support 25 adult tigers. The study found an 80% probability the forest had enough prey to support a small population of five tigers.
Carnivore biologist K. Ullas Karanth, who was quoted in Mongabay’s June report, has emphasised that prey availability ultimately determines whether tigers can survive in a landscape. He has cautioned that releasing tigers into forests without sufficient prey is unlikely to succeed.
The revised 2028 timeline gives Cambodia additional time to rebuild prey populations and strengthen protection in the proposed tiger habitat. Cambodian authorities have previously identified increased patrolling, zero-snaring efforts and prey restoration as priorities before tigers are introduced.
Banner image: A male tiger in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. Image by Koshy Koshy via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).
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