The tiger is one of the most iconic animals on earth, but the largest of the big cats is on the brink of extinction. There are only about 3,900 tigers left in the wild, compared to the nearly 100,000 that roamed a century ago. This catastrophic population decline is driven by a variety of threats, including the illegal wildlife trade, overhunting of tiger prey, conflict with people and habitat loss and fragmentation.

In a new short film by PBS Nature, you can learn about the state of tigers and conservation efforts on the species' behalf by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Panthera. Watch "Tigers: Clawing Back" here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lxlYo4MEXM&t

Today's AMA participants:

• Alex Varga, Director of Regional Planning for Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organization
• Luke Hunter, Executive Director of the  Wildlife Conservation Society's Big Cats Program

We'll be here at 1 pm ET (17 UT) to answer anything you want to know about tigers and tiger conservation!

Usernames: AlexandraTVarga, luketbhunter