Background Information

Tigers are the largest cats and the most threatened in the world.  Of the eight subspecies of tigers, there are three subspecies of tigers that have already gone extinct; the Bali, Caspian and Javan tigers.  Another subspecies of tiger is already on its way to becoming extinct; the South China tiger (there are only 50 in the whole world left).  They have been deemed “functionally extinct”, which means that only a few of their species is left, and that they cannot reproduce because of poor health, age, or other problems.  Tigers all over the world are “poisoned, shot, trapped and snared” and are be sold to illegal institutions such as wildlife trade, hunt ranches, or sold dead for medical uses in China, or used to decorate homes. This depletion of tigers is an important issue that we must pay a lot of attention to, because tigers are at the top of the food chain, and therefore help maintain ecological balance.  The leftover food from their meals also helps to feed other animals such as other mammals and birds. As ecologist E.O. Wilson said, “…they [tigers] are the first to suffer when the ecosystem around them starts to erode.”

Statistics

According to ‘Tigers in Crisis’, the “Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) believes that at least one tiger is killed” each day for Chinese medicine.

Also according to ‘Tigers in Crisis’, the Zoological Society of London believes at least 1,900 kg of tiger bone were exported to Japan from Taiwan in 1990, an equivalent   to 400-500 tigers.

In addition, ‘Tigers in Crisis’ stated that “Since 1900, the endangered tiger's habitat and numbers have been reduced by up to 95 per cent.”

According to TigerHomes.Org, 95 tigers were known to have been killed in 1994; 123 tigers killed in 1994, 52 tigers killed in 1996, 89 tigers killed in 1997, and 36 tigers killed in 1998.  This is only a part of the real number, as many poachers are trying to hide this illegal activity.

According to ‘Wild India’, “In India we had over forty thousand tigers in the beginning of the 20th century. [By the mid- to late- 1900’s,] the tiger population was less than 2000.”