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2010 is the year of the tiger and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is pulling out all the stops in a Year of the Tiger campaign aimed at saving the endangered cat. With as few as 3,200 tigers left in existence, WWF has embarked on an ambitious plan to double the number of tigers in the wild by 2022, the next Year of the Tiger -- and you donate $10 towards the effort with a simple text.
All you have to do is text TIGERS to 20222 and a $10 donation will be added to your cell phone bill (you must be 18 years old). In less than a minute you can help support the WWF's efforts.
The WWF initiative is supported by Hollywood heavyweights Dick Van Dyke, WWF's official Year of the Tiger ambassador, as well as green superstar Leonardo DiCaprio and actor Ethan Suplee. All have put their names and faces behind the initiative, with Van Dyke and Suplee starring in YouTube videos about texting to donate.
Though tigers were once plentiful, the population has been decimated, and the endangered species is facing extinction due to habitat loss and poaching. "Who would have thought that I might outlive one of the most majestic species to ever walk the planet," Van Dyke said in a WWF press release. "When I learned that tigers, which numbered close to 80,000 when I was born in the 1920s, were closing in on extinction, I was stunned."
Spreading the word about the Year of the Tiger is key to making sure those donations keep coming in order to do everything possible to bolster tiger populations in the wild. You can help by posting a Year of the Tiger banner on your blog or website, sending e-cards, using a tiger wallpaper on your computer, or downloading a ringtone that is sure to turn heads (or ears). All of the downloads are free and are available on WWF's website. If you don't have $10 to spare or if you're under 18, you can make a difference by passing the information on to those who can.
More on endangered species:
Which 10 Countries Have the Most Endangered Species?
Do Zoos and Captive Breeding Really Help Endangered Species or Address Habitat Loss?
Know Your Endangered Species Before You Travel
