Tiger, tiger burning bright.............

A feature article by Pragya Khanna, Oct 05, 2007         

The tiger is one of the most charismatic and evocative species on Earth. It is also one of the most threatened. Recognized throughout the world for its ferocity and unmistakable beauty, the tiger faces an uncertain future. Due to increases in both natural and human threats, the wild tiger population suffered major losses during the 20th century and has become one of our most endangered species. By the 1950s, tigers living around the Caspian Sea were extinct; between 1937 and 1972 the population of tigers that once inhabited the islands of Bali and Java disappeared; the South China tiger, with at best 20 to 30 individuals, is nearly extinct in the wild. India today has the largest number of tigers, numbering somewhere between 3,030 and 4,735 and it is estimated that only 5,100 to 7,500 individual tigers now remain in the entire world. These remaining tigers are threatened by many factors, including growing human populations, loss of habitat, illegal hunting of tigers and the species they hunt, and expanded trade in tiger parts used for traditional medicines. The largest of all cats, the tiger is one of the biggest and most fearsome predators in the world. Weighing up to 500 pounds and measuring more than nine feet from nose to the tip of the tail, tigers can travel long distances and bound up to 30 feet in one leap. They are distinctively camouflaged with their gold coloring and black stripes. Their fierce retractile claws and powerful bodies put tigers at the top of the food chain - they eat just about anything and nothing eats them. Tigers prefer to eat ungulates, or hoofed animals (such as wild deer and wild pigs), but have been known to eat fish, birds, and even other predators like leopards and bears. Tigers are able to eat up to 80 pounds of meat in one sitting. Hunting, however, can be difficult for tigers - they are successful in only one or two attacks out of every 20. Tigers are solitary animals and usually come together only to mate. Occasionally, however, small groups of related adults may associate. Mating can occur at any time and typically produces litters with two or three cubs. Cubs stay with their mother for about two years, as early life is dangerous. One half of all cubs born don't survive to their third year. Living fairly secretive lives, the remaining tigers can be found across the continent of Asia in variety of environments including forests, grasslands and swamps. Tigers seem to thrive in areas of dense vegetation with numerous sources of water and large populations of ungulate prey. Three of the eight tiger subspecies (the Bali, Javan and Caspian) have become extinct in the past 70 years, and others may be facing the same fate. Although it is one the most magnificent and revered animals, the tiger is listed as "endangered" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and is also listed on CITES Appendix I, which makes trading of live cats or cat parts (i.e., fur, bones and meat) illegal in signatory countries. There are very few people who understand the true importance of protecting the tiger. Most people feel it is only a matter of saving an animal that makes a beautiful sight to see. This reason only makes up a fraction of why we need to save this incredible animal. The tiger is at the top of the food chain in the jungles that it roams. The following is a very basic description of the chaos that would ensue if the tiger became extinct. If this was to happen, the populations of prey species like Spotted deer and Sambhar would burst at the seams. This excessive population would then totally ravage its food source - vegetation. If the vegetation in the jungles was devastated, where and how would the insects survive? They may even shift to the crops in farmlands. If the plants in the jungles would be finished, what would refurbish the soil? If the soil was no longer fertile, new plants would not sprout. Over the years, this would probably mean the end of the jungles. The end of jungles also means the end of the biggest suppliers of the oxygen filled

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air, which we take so much for granted. This is a very simple layman description of what the result of tiger extinction could mean to our own survival. The truly scientific description is even more alarming and drastic. In the year 1969, the tiger was listed as a species in grave danger and in 1970, a total ban was imposed on tiger killing when the government realised how very few tigers were actually left. On April 10, 1972 a representative of the World Wildlife Fund, Mr. Guy Mountfort went to see the Prime Minister of India, late Mrs. Indira Gandhi and this led to the birth of the ‘Project tiger’ which was launched in India as a conservation programme for saving the Indian Tiger Population. Some of the best examples of this programmes success can be seen in the national parks situated in the high Himalayan region, to the mangrove swamps of the Sundarbans and the thorny scrubs of Rajasthan. Initially, nine large `Reserves' were chosen, later two were added and today we have 29 Reserves. The idea was to try and bring tiger numbers back to safety, for it was found that only 2,000 tigers existed all over the country! If this step had not been taken, the tiger would almost certainly have been wiped off the face of the earth! For almost twenty years, they managed to help these animals, and there were more tigers in the wild than ever before. But tigers are now in trouble all over again. It is sad that the success of Project Tiger is dimming today because in many cases, the government itself is cutting down the tiger's home. Poachers are also very active and they are believed to be killing on average one tiger everyday in India. More wildlife conservation laws and awareness among people is still required to make Indian sanctuaries a safe haven for tigers. Recently, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed to create a National Wildlife Crime Prevention Bureau and a Special Task Force for Project Tiger following reports of disappearance of the national animal from Sariska in Rajasthan and in Bandhavgarh, where tigers have not been sighted for months. Panna in Madhya Pradesh was recently in the news with reports of 21 young adults and nine breeding tigers missing since the last two years. Animals form an inalienable fragment of nature, and if we hasten the disappearance of even one species, we diminish our world and our place in it. In the words of Mahatama Gandhi, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated", therefore, as custodians of the planet it is our responsibility to deal with all species with kindness, love, and compassion. That these animals suffer through human cruelty is beyond understanding.

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