Largest of all cats, tigers are formidable predators. The male Siberian tiger, the largest subspecies, can grow to 13 feet in length and weigh 700 pounds! With razor sharp, retractable claws, long canine teeth, and powerful jaws and legs, they can bring down animals far heavier than themselves, such as wild boars. Tigers eat 40 to 100 pounds of meat every day. From the snow-covered mountains of Manchuria to the evergreen forests of Siberia, and to the tropical jungles of Indonesia, tigers have adapted to a wide range of terrain. Unlike the open habitat of lions, leopards, and cheetahs, tigers prefer to live in moderately dense cover. They are solitary cats that stake out their territories by marking their area with their scent and claw markings on trees. In fact, the only time when adult tigers are in contact with each other is when they mate.
The tiger, Panthera tigris, one of the world's most beautiful and revered animals, stands near the brink of extinction. Since the turn of the century, its habitat and numbers have been reduced by up to 95%. For a million years the tiger ruled over a territory stretching from eastern Turkey to North Korea, its forest home extending northward to Siberia and southward into Bali. In this century alone, three sub-species of tiger were driven into extinction, including the Bali, Javan, and Caspian. The remaining five sub-species are at risk of meeting the same fate.
The tiger faces an onslaught of poaching throughout its range. In 1991, one-third of the Siberian or Amur tigers were killed to meet the demand for their bones and other parts. These are used in the production of traditional medicine which is sold in the markets of China, Taiwan, and Korea, and even exported to the USA and Europe. Now there are less than 50 Siberian tigers left on this planet--fewer than 20 remain in the wild. Unfortunately, this leaves the Siberian tigers prone to genetic disease. Also, tigers compete with expanding populations of human industry for land and food, and are killed by poachers when interfering with the plans of man. If these trends continue, despite many laws and conservation efforts, the wild tiger may soon be doomed to extinction. Habitat loss remains a grave danger for the tiger, particularly in South and Southeast Asia. In countries like India where there is a human population problem, people are always looking for more room which infringes on the tiger habitat. Once people reside close to tigers, they transform the ecological system with cattle, crops, et cetera, which in turn harms the tigers. The following is a detailed analysis of many of the threats that endanger tigers (all but one associated with man) fallowed by some interesting videos of other animals in the world that we as humans have threatened the being of.
Illegal Hunting for Medicinal Trade
Poaching for tiger skins has a long history. The magnificent striped pelt has been in demand for rugs, wall hangings, and fur coats. These are less important now as the market is restricted by trade bans. The poacher's targets today are bones and other parts to meet the demand for pseudo-medicinal use in eastern Asia, primarily China, Taiwan, South Korea, as well as in Indo-China. The extent of this demand has yet to be ascertained because very little data exists of the evidence of tiger products in pharmacies and markets throughout the region. Most of the exports are believed to have been to Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, but tiger-based medicines have been found in many parts of the world where there are Chinese communities, including Australia, Europe, and the USA.
It can be assumed that within China itself the killing of at least 3,000 tigers as pests in the 1950s and 1960s provided large stocks of bones for medicine factories. Supplies were also likely to have been obtained from poaching of tigers in neighboring countries such as Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam, where protective measures have been non-existent. Only in the late 1980s did reports emerge from Nepal and India of poaching for bones and smuggling to China, an indication that "stocks" were running low in China and that tigers were becoming more difficult to find in Southeast Asia.
The best data on the tiger bone trade comes from South Korea, where imports were legal and recorded by customs up to 1993. The statistics show that over six tons of tiger bone were imported between 1975 and 1992, which could represent the equivalent of 500 to 1,000 tigers. Nearly two-thirds of the imports to South Korea were from Indonesia, with China second at 14 per cent. China supplanted Indonesia as the major supplier, but since it had few tigers the products must have originated in other countries. In 1993, as South Korea prepared to join CITES, the country imported its biggest single haul of tiger bones, 1,783kg, representing between 160 and 300 tigers. The vast majority came from China.
Poaching and Habitat Loss
Assessing the impact of poaching is difficult. Unlike carcasses of elephants and rhinos, the remains of tigers quickly disappear, particularly when the skeleton has been taken. Skins are easily identified, but few people can distinguish tiger bones from those of domestic animals which are used for fertilizer and glue. Where forest guards regularly patrol, they may note that a familiar tiger is no longer to be seen, but it may be difficult to decide whether it was poached or died naturally. In many forests there are too few guards, if any.
If a female is kills, she is likely to have cubs, who may be unable to fend for themselves, in which case the real loss may be three or four tigers. When a male is killed, the result may be an intensive struggle among other males to take over the territory. Leading to cubs getting killed and breeding disrupted for a lengthy period, possibly for several years.
The current range of the tiger extends through one of the most densely inhabited regions of the world, where human numbers are rising at an average of 1.87% (according to the World Resources Institute). Except for Thailand and China (where there are fewer than 100 tigers), where human populations are increasing much faster than the average global rate. During the 20 years since Project Tiger began in 1973, India's human population has increased by over 300 million, and livestock by over 100 million. The human pressure on wild habitat, including protected areas, is clearly intense, and increasing.
Like other big cats, the tiger probably has little future outside protected areas because of the danger to livestock and human life. Tigers which stray out of reserves and attack livestock are often poisoned by local people.
Weak Law Enforcement
Taiwan prohibited tiger bone imports in 1985 and internal sale and possession in 1989. However, tiger products continued to be openly available. Under international pressure, especially from the USA and CITES, China in 1993, Taiwan, and South Korea in 1994 have all announced bans on trade in tiger bones, and their use in traditional medicines. However, undercover investigators reported that they had obtained tiger products in various places in China after the ban.
Taiwan prohibited tiger bone imports in 1985 and internal sale and possession in 1989. However, tiger products continued to be openly available. Under international pressure, especially from the USA and CITES, China in 1993, Taiwan, and South Korea in 1994 have all announced bans on trade in tiger bones, and their use in traditional medicines. However, undercover investigators reported that they had obtained tiger products in various places in China after the ban.
Unfortunately, new evidence shows that tigers are being breed in China now to quench the Chinese market for tiger parts.
How effective bans will be in curbing demand remains to be seen. The belief in the efficacy of medicines based on the awesome tiger is ages old and cannot be expected to disappear in the short term. Evidence has been collected that tiger-based medicines are still widely available despite the announced bans, and illegal trade is likely to continue for a long time to come. That will mean that tigers everywhere will remain under serious threat unless steps are taken to suppress the trade and find effective substitutes.
Impact of Catastrophes
Small isolated populations are especially vulnerable to catastrophic events: natural disasters, such as forest fires, floods, hurricanes, and epidemics; and human-induced events, such as deforestation and conversion of habitat. Extensive fires in the forests of northeastern China in 1987 may have killed Siberian tigers, and reduced prey numbers. Monsoon floods and hurricanes regularly kill some tigers in the Indian subcontinent. Inbreeding has reduced genetic variability and, therefore, resistance to the spread of disease.
Small isolated populations are especially vulnerable to catastrophic events: natural disasters, such as forest fires, floods, hurricanes, and epidemics; and human-induced events, such as deforestation and conversion of habitat. Extensive fires in the forests of northeastern China in 1987 may have killed Siberian tigers, and reduced prey numbers. Monsoon floods and hurricanes regularly kill some tigers in the Indian subcontinent. Inbreeding has reduced genetic variability and, therefore, resistance to the spread of disease.
The Genetic Threat
Most tiger populations today consist of fewer than 100 individuals and only about 40% of them constitute the breeding population. Inbreeding is inevitable and father-daughter and mother-son matings have been recorded. The balance of the sexes may be distorted by an excess of males or females surviving to maturity, thus increasing the impact of inbreeding. A loss of variability and genetic deterioration follow, with lowered cub production and survival, which may not be apparent until they have reached a level that threatens the population.
Videos
This is a good video reflecting on the Tiger danger
Elephants
This will blow you away
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