posted by Catherine on Feb 28
After years and years of campaigning – we are still trying to save the tiger!
Some species have been saved in recent years – for example the Amur Tiger which was basically brought back from extinction in the 1940′s.
There were an estimated 40 Amur Tigers left in the wild when a project was set up to reverse this dangerous trend – and it has taken over 60 years for the population to reach today’s figure of around 500 tigers today. It wasn’t easy and it leaves the species open to a genetic bottleneck where there is such a small gene pool for future generations. But the animals live on.
We can stop this happening to other species of tiger in the world if we start now, and do it properly!
Tigers 2009.
It is estimated that there are now only around 4000-7000 wild tigers left in the wild today. This is very low compared to recent history.
There are now only 5% of the total number of tigers that have lived in the past on earth today, with the stronghold being in India. It’s historic range – the area where it previously lived has shrunk by 93%, leaving only restricted pockets across the Asian continent.
As with many other species – they are illegally poached. Tigers are hunted and killed for their amazing skins and for apparently ‘medicinal purposes’. However, they are being wiped out faster than they can breed and of course the rarer they become – the more they are worth so it is a self-perpetuating spiral!
Another reason their numbers are dwindling is their competition with humans. They compete for the land and the resources, and unfortunately the humans are winning! When the tigers land is taken or destroyed by humans, the tigers will sometimes need to pass close to settlements and of course if they are hungry they will take livestock. Can you blame them?
However, it is not always livestock that become prey – many humans have lost their lives as these two forces are pushed closer together. If things are going to change, it must benefit the communities as well as the tigers.
What Can We Do?
Well, there are many groups set up and campaigning for the protection of the remaining tiger populations, and many of these are also trying to tackle the human aspect of this environment too.
Preserve:
Saving and protecting the tiger refuges are just a small part of this, as you also need to protect their prey species too, and the food and environment of that prey species. I mean you can’t save the tiger if the deer it eats aren’t there.
Educate:
By working with local farmers to better protect their livestock, charities hope it will reduce the risk of a tiger attack and lessen the conflict of retaliation. Offering a range of different crops and trades to farmers and their families should help to reduce their dependency on livestock and the environment by reducing the need to deplete local resources and ultimately making their lives more sustainable.
Protect:
Stopping or reducing the poaching is also a priority, and TRAFFIC and other charities and NGO’s are petitioning to increase fines and sentencing for poachers that are caught. They are also trying to reduce the market for tiger parts so a dead tiger is worth less.
Improve:
Increasing the money made from seeing the tigers alive is a major advance in the area. If local people are employed in tourism to show them that people are willing to pay big money to see the animals alive, they will do more to keep them alive. A single tiger killed will make money only once – a living tiger will make money every day it is alive. If it breeds, it will only multiply that money for future generations.
Large Scale:
Work with larger businesses and international companies to look elsewhere for resources or to use the land with alternative business. For example, reducing the clearing of forests for palm oil plantations, and increasing tourism-related enterprises.
Tourism is the reason that the tigers and national parks are even here in the first place. If no-one was paying to see them – they probably wouldn’t exist! By advertising travel and tiger safaris to these regions should help to increase their protection and their numbers.
Wildlife Ranger Course:
There is a 12 day full-board trip currently available for you to train as a wildlife ranger (www.discoveryinitiatives.co.uk) in India for around US$3700per person including a $43 contribution to the Global Tiger Patrol.
The cost involves travel to several wildlife refuges – one of which is rarely visited by tourists! You get to see the tigers themselves as well as spend time with local communities debating both sides of the issue. It’s very easy to sit at home and tell people what they should and shouldn’t do – but you only see the whole story when you are actually there.
Can you imagine your reaction if Hindu Indian officials were campaigning to stop us farming their sacred cow in the UK? They would be telling us that we can’t eat beef, drink milk, ferment cheese or wear leather. They will think this is so obvious and easy to do. Just as we can’t believe that anyone would ever think of cutting down a rain forest or killing an extremely rare and beautiful tiger, they probably can’t believe that we would kill a cow and then wear it!
Different cultures believe different things and act in different ways. Ultimately, we are all trying to make a living and keep our family safe – but we all have different challenges and deal with them in different ways. And this course is your chance to step into someone else’s shoes and see how they fit!
It’s not only just about the tigers either – you get to see the whole ecosystem – wolves, jackals, leopards and many more predators all live in the same area – all looking for different prey, but all ultimately dependant on each other. Take one of the fantastic night walks to really see the wildlife!
There are many other trips to the area to see the tigers – but make sure that some of the money actually stays in the area of goes to a sustainable and well recognised charity or other organisation – as unfortunately, many are just like package holidays – with all the money staying in the west and none actually going to fund tiger conservation!
If you can’t take this trip, then you can still contribute by contacting WWF and making a donation, becoming a member, sponsoring a tiger or by requesting tickets for their upcoming Tiger Raffle.
Can you help?
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August 4th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
Tiger Appeal Update:
WWF are currently asking people to sign their petition to help double the number of tigers in the world.
Go to http://www.wwf.org.uk/how_you_can_help/donate_now/save_the_tiger/ – to put you name on the list!
August 24th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
And now it is 2010 – it is the Year Of The Tiger – and yes, WWF are STILL having to campaign on their behalf!
Join their campaign this year and lets get this thing sorted out before it is too late:
Catherine