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Animals/Fish/Birds/Plants Endangered Species Tiger
(Photo: Courtesy The Tiger Information Center - Minnesota Zoo Collection) |
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Animals/Fish/Birds/Plants Endangered Species Tiger
(Photo: Courtesy The Tiger Information Center - Minnesota Zoo Collection) |
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What is the problem? Tigers are one of the Earth's fastest disappearing species. At the beginning of this century there were about 100,000 wild tigers. Today there are less than 2,500! Originally, there were nine subspecies of tiger - 3 of which are now extinct. The 6 remaining tiger species: Amur (Siberian), Malayan, South China, Indo-chinese, Royal Bengal and Sumatran all have very shaky futures. They are disappearing from the wild because of:
Habitat Loss: Across all of Asia, places that were once covered with vast forests have been cleared for agriculture. As forest space diminishes, tigers can't find the prey they need to survive. As a result, tigers have begun to eat the livestock belonging to villagers who live near what's left of the forests. That's a problem for the livestock, it's also a problem for the tigers who sometimes get killed by villagers protecting their families and their livestock. Poaching: Even though it's illegal to kill a tiger, people are still doing it. Why? Because every part of a dead tiger is valuable (more valuable than a live tiger in the eyes of poachers). A tiger's coat sells for as much as $20,000 on the black market. An intact tiger forearm can bring in hundreds of dollars per pound. Tiger penis soup sells for $320 a bowl in Taiwan. (Some people actually believe that tiger penis soup will increase their sexuality. Crazy? Absolutely!) Tiger bones, claws, eyes and even the whiskers command high prices for use in Eastern potions and elixirs. To fulfill the demand, the world's last tigers are being illegally trapped, poisoned and shot, then smuggled across international boundaries. Forestry and wildlife departments don't have the resources to fight against the poachers. Population Fragmentation: Of any predator, tigers
require the largest land area to survive and must compete
with people for limited habitat and resources. As habitat is
lost, people move farther into what was once the forest.
Groups of tigers become separated from one another by
villages and farms. This is called "population
fragmentation." Consequently, tigers in one area can no
longer mate with tigers in nearby areas. Instead, tigers
breed repeatedly with the same small group of animals. Over
time, this inbreeding weakens the gene pool, and tigers are
born with birth defects and mutations. In 1969 the tiger was declared an endangered species. At that time there was an official ban on the export of tiger furs from India. In 1975, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) imposed a ban on the buying or selling tiger parts. In 1993, CITES warned China and Taiwan to shut down their black markets trading in tiger parts or face trade sanctions. When they did not comply, the United States took historic steps. In 1994, President Clinton imposed trade sanctions against Taiwan for its role in illegally marketing parts of tigers and rhinos. (Rhinos are as endangered as tigers. They are slaughtered for their horns.) Also, in 1994, the United States Congress passed The Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act to provide resources to conservation programs focused on saving these endangered species. (White Tiger [Bengal] Photo: Courtesy The Tiger Information Center - Minnesota Zoo Collection) However, there is some good news. Thanks to mainly private adopters and a few zoo programs, there are an estimated 20,000 tigers living in captivity around the world. Tigers are a global resource. Loss of the tiger doesn't just mean that the tiger, as a species, is lost. It also indicates an imbalance within an ecosystem that affects many other life forms. We can never replace a species once it is lost! Extinct is forever! So do something! 1. Write to President Obama and Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior expressing your concern about the fate of tigers and your desire that they be saved.
2. Write your United States Senator and Congressional Representative. Tell them how important tigers are to you and ask them to support protection for tigers and their habitat and to keep other environmental laws strong. 3. Write to the Prime Minister of India and ask him to help save the tigers in India. 4. Adopt-A-Tiger: The Tiger Foundation. There are no South China Tigers in the wild. Only 50-60 remain in captivity. 5. Check out these websites and find out what these organizations are doing to help save the tiger. Find out what you can do to work with them!
(Photo: Courtesy The Tiger Information Center - Minnesota Zoo Collection) Check out other Environmental Organizations
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