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CARL AZUZ: Hi, I'm Carl Azuz.
It's always good to have you watching our show.
In recent days, as we've shown you,
Ukrainians hiding in shelters or leaving their homes
during the Russian military invasion of their country,
you might have noticed they included the elderly,
as well as women and children.
But where are the young men?
When Russia launched what it called
a quote special military operation in Ukraine
on February 24, Ukrainian president Volodymyr
Zelensky declared martial law--
when a country's armed forces take
control during a national emergency.
Part of that made it illegal for men between the ages
of 18 and 60 to leave Ukraine.
Some of them have been drafted into the Ukrainian military.
Others may be in the days ahead.
And the nation's government says more than 66,000 Ukrainian men
have returned there from other countries
to join the fight against Russian troops.
It also says more than 20,000 foreign volunteers
from 52 nations have said they joined
the fight on Ukraine's behalf.
Meantime, a US defense official says
Russia is trying to recruit foreign fighters as well,
including people from Syria, to supplement
Russian forces in Ukraine.
We don't have an estimate on how many foreign troops might be
involved on the Russian side, but US officials
say that country's fight in Ukraine
has been harder than the Russian government expected.
Russia said at the beginning of its invasion
that it would only target Ukrainian military sites,
but several civilian sites, from apartment buildings to college
buildings to a Ukrainian Orthodox Church,
have been damaged or destroyed.
As far as casualties go, we don't
know how many thousands of people
have been killed in the conflict.
The Russian and Ukrainian governments
give vastly different counts when it comes
to their soldiers' deaths.
But the United Nations says it believes
more than 400 civilians have lost their lives.
The UN also says more than 1.7 million Ukrainians
have left their homes.
Many are crossing their country's
border into Moldova, a much smaller
nation South of Ukraine.
IVAN WATSON: [non-english speech]
- Nikolaev.
IVAN WATSON: Nikolaev.
It's a family that has just crossed the border from Ukraine
into Moldova.
They came from the town of Nikolaev,
a scene of some pretty intense fighting.
And they are some of the hundreds of people that we've
seen crossing this border in just
the last couple of hours in the cold, in the snow flurries.
People with very little children in strollers
and now suddenly refugees.
The amount of humanity that has crossed the borders
from Ukraine into Moldova in just
the last week and a half more than 230,000 people.
I spoke with Moldova's prime minister,
who predicts the situation will get much, much worse.
NATALIA GAVRILITA: So every eighth child in Moldova
is now a refugee.
So about 3/4 of the refugees are actually staying with families.
A lot of Ukrainians have friends or relatives in Moldova,
but also regular people have just
taken in Ukrainian families and invited them into their homes.
IVAN WATSON: Complete strangers?
NATALIA GAVRILITA: Yes, absolutely.
IVAN WATSON: Do you think the refugee exodus will get worse
in the days and weeks ahead?
NATALIA GAVRILITA: I'm afraid so.
IVAN WATSON: The Moldovan government
is providing free transport for people from the border.
They have opened their doors to these Ukrainian refugees.
But Moldova is a small country and clearly
needs help with this.
I spoke with one grandmother who was holding
her four-month-old granddaughter who
said her home had been destroyed by Russian troops
in the town of Nikolaev.
And she blamed Russia for this uprooting of humanity
for the uncertainty and fear, and trauma
that her family has been put through.
She used the Russian government's words
against them.
She said Moscow says it has come to liberate
us look at how we are being liberated from our homeland.
Ivan Watson, CNN, on the Ukraine Moldova border.
CARL AZUZ: 10-second trivia.
What is the most common tiger subspecies in the wild?
Bengal, Siberian, Sumatran, or Indo-Chinese?
The most common subspecies of tiger
is the Bengal though it's still considered endangered.
Well, conservationists believe a few thousand
Bengal Tigers are left in the wild
and that their numbers may be increasing.
Researchers think the number of wild Indo-Chinese tigers
is somewhere in the hundreds.
That's why this footage captured in Western Thailand
two years ago with such a big deal.
Remote cameras filmed three young Indo-Chinese tigers
and gave hope they may be returning to the forests.
Conservationists are trying to help them along.
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- This lush tropical forest in Northwest Thailand
is hiding a rare endangered species.
It's one of the last bastions for the Indo-Chinese tiger.
Poached to the brink of extinction
for their fur and use in traditional medicine,
this iconic species has all but disappeared
from much of its range.
Almost everywhere, in fact, except for here.
Huai Kha Khaeng wildlife sanctuary is part of Thailand's
Western forest complex.
With almost 7,000 square miles of protected jungle,
it forms the largest intact forest block
in mainland Southeast Asia--
fertile ground for tigers, and Pornkamol
Jornburom is on their tail.
PORNKAMOL JORNBUROM: This is the tiger track.
So I'm doing the measurement to make
sure this is real tiger tracks.
I would say this is a healthy one adult tiger.
- John Barron works for the Wildlife Conservation Society.
The nonprofit is partnered with the Thai Department of National
Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation
in a project training park Rangers
to reduce poaching here since 2005.
Together, they developed the smart patrol system,
a combination of boots on the ground,
camera traps, and data collection
to monitor signs of wildlife and potential threats.
Armed and trained in self-defense,
these park Rangers are prepared for encounters with poachers.
And unlike other protected areas in Thailand,
there have been no incidents of poaching
here since 2013, according to the Wildlife
Conservation Society.
By using 250 camera traps across the forest,
they found that tiger numbers have
more than doubled here over the past 15 years to over 60.
- Yesterday.
- Yesterday?
- And this watering hole deep in the forest
has become a day spa for tigers, somewhere to rest, relax,
and rendezvous until they eventually make room
for some other forest residents like the Asiatic black bear,
Asian elephant, and wild boar.
PORNKAMOL JORNBUROM: Tiger is the top predator
of the food chain in ecosystem.
So if we are successful in conserving tiger,
that means we can protect many other endangered species.
- And as Jornburom says, big cats need big food.
Large mammals like gaur, banteng, and sambar deer
are all on the menu here.
PORNKAMOL JORNBUROM: For one adult tiger,
it needs at least 50 sambar deers a year to feed them.
- 2022 is the lunar year of the tiger,
marking a deadline set in 2010 by 13 countries
to double their wild tiger populations.
So far, evidence suggests global tiger numbers are on the rise,
but the range has continued to decline.
Jornburom is hopeful for Thailand's tigers.
PORNKAMOL JORNBUROM: For example,
Huai Kha Khaeng right now we are the biggest home of
Indo-Chinese tiger population.
- So, while tiger's worldwide face an uncertain future,
these tigers can relax, at least for now.
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CARL AZUZ: Whether or not you're a dog owner,
sniff spot may not sound like something
you want in your backyard, but that's
the name of a website for private dog parks
people can rent.
And some dog owners or lovers are
offering their backyards as a sort of Vrbo or Airbnb
for canines.
The owner of the Scooby-Dooby shack in Las Vegas,
for example, says she's made hundreds of dollars
renting out her backyard and pool to dogs.
But would this rental idea work for other pets?
Doing this for fish would go belly up.
Ferrets would try to weasel their way out.
Rabbits could escape with a hop, skip, and a jump.
Guinea pigs would have to be willing Guinea pigs.
Snakes would try to squeeze you out of every last penny.
Hamsters give good shavings but not much savings,
and cats tend to litter, so probably not.
But, hey, it still makes sense for us
to visit Renton, Washington, for today's shout-out.
Want to recognize our viewers at Lindbergh
High School watching there.
I'm Carl Azuz for CNN.
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