Lions have long been said to be the king of the jungle, but tigers – found from the tundra of Siberia to the rainforests and jungles of India and Southeast Asia – are the true king of the cats.

Despite this title, these kings’ futures have become uncertain, and their numbers in the wild have dwindled.

But one energy company has been playing a key role in helping to build a better future for tigers.

ExxonMobil’s support for tigers has been the world’s largest single corporate commitment to saving the species. Between 1995 and 2009 the company accounted for about a quarter of philanthropic funds spent on tiger conservation globally across more than 100 different programs.

Esso – ExxonMobil’s Thai operations – have played a major role in supporting the conservation of tigers in the country.

Tigers have long played a major role in ExxonMobil’s – and its subsidiary Esso’s – history, with the company comparing the power of the energy in its fuels to that of a tiger. The company used the slogan “Put a Tiger in the Tank” for its gasoline, evoking the idea of the power and strength of tigers for more than a century.

The company is backing the tigers’ futures in multiple countries by supporting conservation and study programs designed to learn more about the big cats and improve their odds in the wild.

Esso Sriracha Refinery has supported the Thai Khao Kheow Open Zoo’s efforts to promote sustainable environmental conservation programs aimed at educating youths for more than a decade.

These programs included a leading conservation-focused youth camp called “Tigers love forest, fish love sea.”

Young Thais are being provided with greater environmental education through these programs.

The energy company said the camp’s activities are designed to educate Thai youth about environmental issues and to engage and encourage them to take part in promoting natural resources and environmental conservation.

In addition to the program, the refinery also sponsored the installation’s interactive tiger signs in the zoo’s “Tiger Valley” to provide more information about tigers.

Thailand is not the only country where ExxonMobil is helping to protect and preserve tigers.

In Texas, the United States, the company also provided support for tigers at the Dallas Zoo, where a number of tigers were housed as part of a long-term breeding program to not only preserve endangered Sumatran and Indochinese tigers but also study their behaviour.

The future of tigers around the world have been re-energised thanks to the support of major companies focused on their conservation, who are working to ensure these majestic cats continue to hold their crowns as kings.

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