28 September,2010 08:23 AM IST | | Agencies
Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio will put his fame to work to raise global awareness about India's dwindling number of tigers, an official said.
DiCaprio and India's Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh met at a receptionu00a0in New York organised by the Coalition of Rainforest Nations, an inter-governmental organisation.
"The actor met the minister and has expressed his interest to play a crucial role in sensitising the global community to the cause of the Indian tiger," a senior environment ministry said.
"DiCaprio plans to come to India to be a part of the conservation efforts," the official said, asking not to be named.
India's endangered tiger population has plummeted to 1,350 -- just over a third of the 3,700 estimated to be alive in 2002.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, alarmed by the dwindling number of tigers, set up two years ago a national wildlife crime prevention bureau, drawing experts from the police, environmental agencies and customs to end poaching.
But despite the new measures, poachers killed 32 tigers in 2009 and three this year, according to the Wildlife Protection Society of India.
Tiger hunting is illegal worldwide and the trade in tiger parts is banned under a treaty binding 167 countries, including India.
1,350, the number of tigers alive in India
