A slew of celebrities including Harrison Ford, Bo Derek and Robert Duvall have come together to support the World Bank on Monday in their mission to help save tigers from becoming extinct. The World Bank is mostly known for its efforts to mitigate poverty around the globe, but it has also taken on wildlife conservation efforts with the help of governments and scientists. Their new Tiger Conservation Initiative aims to tackle threats to tigers like the illegal trade of their skins, meat and body parts, which are used in traditional Asian medicine.

“By committing to help wild tigers, the World Bank is sounding its intention to be a global leader in biodiversity conservation,” Ford, the star of the latest “Indiana Jones” movie, told an event at Washington’s Smithsonian National Zoo. [Reuters]

World Bank President Robert Zoellick says that tiger poaching is at an all time high, with the number of tigers on a sharp decline from over 100,000 a century ago to less than 4,000 now. Zoellick warns that if we don’t do something immediately, tigers could be the first species of large predator to disappear in historic times.

Find out more about the Tiger Conservation Initiative on the World Bank’s website. You can also takepart at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Save the Tiger Fund and find out ten things you can do to help save tigers. Cute baby tiger video below!!

Related:

• Tiger poaching on the rise in Vietnam
• BBC: Tiger poaching still at ‘danger’ level
• MSNBC: Harrison Ford, Bo Derek team up to save tigers