Program Aims to Protect Tigers — and Their Prey

VPM | By Alex Chadwick

Published July 6, 2006 at 2:39 PM EDT

Updated July 6, 2023

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) on Thursday announced plans for what they are calling the Tigers Forever Initiative — a new approach to conservation with a goal of increasing tiger numbers by 50 percent over the next 10 years across WCS tiger sites.

Alan Rabinowitz, director of the Science and Exploration Program at the Wildlife Conservation Society, says what makes this new approach different is that the WCS will be holding itself accountable for a significant increase in tiger numbers over a specific period of time.

In a dozen field sites, scientists will be focusing not only on the tigers but on the safety of their prey and the actions of their human neighbors. They’ll work closely with local governments to gather more baseline data on tigers in some areas while increasing anti-poaching activities at other sites.

In a National Geographic Radio Expeditions interview, Rabinowitz notes that this kind of accountability is a new concept for conservationists.

“We’re putting our reputations on the line and holding ourselves accountable that we can grow tiger numbers,” he says. “At the same time, we have the knowledge, expertise and track record to accomplish this goal.”

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Alex Chadwick

For more than 30 years, Alex Chadwick has been bringing the world to NPR listeners as an NPR News producer, program host and currently senior correspondent. He's reported from every continent except Antarctica.

From its launch in 2003 to Fall 2008, Chadwick was co-host of NPR's Day to Day, a weekday, one-hour newsmagazine produced by NPR in collaboration with Slate Magazine. An effortless interviewer, Chadwick connected with everyday people and issues in a way that welcomes listeners to even the most challenging subjects.

As host of the award-winning "Radio Expeditions" series on Morning Edition, Chadwick reported from deserts, from the deepest recesses of tropical jungles, while riding surging river rapids, from atop icy mountaintops, and from under the sea. "Radio Expeditions," a co-production of NPR and the National Geographic Society, explored the natural world and diverse cultures with the top-tier aural imagery of National Geographic.

Chadwick came to NPR in 1977 as host and producer of NPR's morning news service. He was part of the team that developed Morning Edition, and served as a feature writer and substitute host for the program for many years. His work at NPR includes stints reporting for and hosting the evening news program All Things Considered, as well as Weekend Edition.

Chadwick's work has earned widespread recognition from his peers. Most recently, he won the Sigma Delta Chi Society of Professional Journalists 2002 award for investigative reporting. He has twice won the Overseas Press Club's Lowell Thomas Award for foreign reporting. During his work with "Radio Expeditions," the series won the prestigious Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award in 2000.

As a freelance television writer, Chadwick created and hosted the feature segment "Interviews — 50 Cents" on ABC's Day One news magazine. He wrote the CBS 60 Minutes "25th Anniversary Special," as well as a three-hour CBS Reports special on violence, "In the Killing Fields of America." That special won an Emmy, a 1996 Peabody, and the Robert F. Kennedy Award for reporting on the disadvantaged.

Chadwick lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Carolyn Jensen, and likes to bicycle to work.

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