The world’s tiger population may have halved in the past quarter of a century and at least one of the remaining five sub-species is in danger of becoming extinct, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) experts said on Tuesday.

Chinese demand for tiger parts used in traditional medicines and habitat destruction are the two greatest perils facing the big cat, scientists and conservationists said.

Speaking in Sweden at a seminar featuring experts from Asia, Africa and Europe, they said the South China tiger could soon be extinct and the Sumatran tiger population was the next most threatened sub-species.

But WWF officials also said with proper measures, tigers could thrive and increase their numbers by thousands, and they believed the species would survive.

“In many ways the tiger stands at a crossroads between extinction and survival, and which path it takes is totally dependent on us,” said Sujoy Banerjee, director of WWF India’s species program.

The WWF’s tiger coordinator based in Nepal, Bivash Pandav, said he believed there were some 3,500 tigers left in the world. That compared with rough estimates of about 5,000-7,500 in 1982

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