"Lions and tigers and bears, OH MY!". Remember that line from The Wizard Of Oz? Pretty soon writers will have to find a replacement for the tigers because it is estimated that by the year 2010 some species of big cats in the world will be extinct. Just imagine-- NO MORE TIGERS?? No more Snow Leopards? No more Panthers? Zoos do not have the capacity to house enough cats to keep a species alive. So the responsibility falls on us.
When God created our world, he gave it to us as a gift along with all the animals that walk the earth. It is our responsibility to love and respect all living creatures and to give back as much as we take. Man has become greedy and in the end he will be one of the instruments that destroyed one of the earth's most beautiful, graceful, powerful and mystical creatures.
THREATS TO TIGERS
At the start of this century, there were around 100,000 wild tigers. Today the number is less then 7,000. Tigers living by the Caspian Sea were extinct by the 1950s. Tigers that lived on the islands of Java and Bali are now extinct. The South China Tiger is almost extinct with only 20-30 left in the wild. The largest population of tigers today is in India with a population of around 3,000-4,000. The main threats to tigers are habitat loss, population fragmentation and poaching.
Habitat Loss: In Asia, trees have been cut down for timber and land turned over to agriculture. Small islands of forests are all that remain. As the forest is reduced, so the number of animals are reduced and the tigers cannot hunt for prey they need to survive. Tigers then start eating the livestock of farmers who live near them and sometimes the tigers even attack humans. The people then kill the tigers to protect themselves and the cattle.
Population Fragmentation: As people move farther into the forest, tigers become separated from one another by villages and farms. This means tigers breed with the same small group of animals and over time, this weakens the gene pool. Tigers are then born with birth defects and mutations.
Poaching: Even though it is illegal to kill a tiger, wild tigers are still being poached. Their bones, whiskers and other body parts can be sold on the black market for alot of money. Tiger parts are used in Chinese medicine because some people believe that tiger parts have special powers. Some estimate that one tiger a day is being killed in India.
THE PRICE OF EXTINCTION
Teeth - $195 (Cambodia)
Eyes - $170 (Taiwan)
Full Skeleton - $61,000
Skull - $1,200 (Taiwan)
Meat - $3-15/lb (United States)
Blood - $15/gal (China)
Urine - $.13/gal/ (China)
Clavicle - $10,000 (Nepal)
Skin - $7,300 (South Korea)
Lower leg - $300 (China)
Fat - $5.50/bottle (Cambodia)
Claws - $120 (Cambodia)
Penis - $27,000 (Japan)
Pills of 100 grams are believed to increase sexual potentcy.
TOTAL VALUE = $70,000
The three tiger subspecies that are now extinct are: Caspian tiger, Javan tiger and the Bali tiger. The Caspian tiger once lived in Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Mongolia and the Central Asiatic area of Russia. It became extinct in the 1950's. The Javan tiger once lived on the Indonesian island of Java. The last Javan tiger was seen in 1972. The Bali tiger once lived on the island of Bali. The last Bali tiger was believed to have been killed in 1937.
LIVE TIGER CAMS
CAM #1
CAM #2 (scroll down to mid page)
CAM #3 (scroll down to mid page)
If we forget about the tiger, other species will not survive for future generations. Will you help today?
The following list of sites are ways you can help save these magnificent creatures.
TIGER INFORMATION CENTER
SAVE CHINA'S TIGERS
THE TIGER FOUNDATIONS
ONLINE AND OFFLINE PETITIONS
SAVE THE TIGER PETITIONS
SAVE INDIA'S TIGERS
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Image used for header from WONDERFUL WORLD OF CATS BY KAYOMI; Scripts from LISSA EXPLAINS ALL
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Created 12/24/98
Updated 11/04/05
