The Tiger was once common over vast
regions of Asia, from the frozen wastes of Siberia in the north to the steamy
jungles of Java and Bali in the south, but today its numbers have shrunk to only
a few thousand. Today the tiger is found from Russia, China, and Korea in the
north, through Nepal, Bhutan, India, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam,
to Malaysia and Sumatra in the south. During recent years it has been exterminated
in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Java, and Bali.
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| The past 100 years
have been disastrous for the world's tiger population. It is estimated that in
1900 there were more than 100,000. By the 1990s this number had shrunk to about
5000. One by one, its habitats are reporting no sightings. On Bali, one of the
islands of Indonesia, the last tiger was seen in the 1940s. Java, also in Indonesia,
last saw a tiger around 1980. Still in Indonesia, on Sumatra there are thought
to be no more than 500 left. There are about 50 tigers left in the whole South
China, and no more than 500 in Siberia. The Caspian tiger in central Asia is thought
to have become extinct around 1970. |
There are four reasons why the
tiger populations are falling:
1. The human population of Asia has more than doubled since 1950 and now
stands at over 3 billion. At the present rate of increase, this figure will have
doubled again in another 30 years. Living space for the tiger is vanishing, year
by year.
2. Sport hunting still continues in certain regions, even where it is illegal.
Bagging a tiger used to be one of the dreams of human hunters and for some the
challenge remains irresistible.
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3. The world demand for wood is insatiable
and destruction of the ancient forests continues, robbing the tigers of their
habitat.
4. Traditional Chinese medicine demands a regular supply of tiger items
to satisfy its clients. In particular, ground-up tiger bone, tiger teeth, tiger
claws, and tiger skin are greatly sought after to cure a variety of ailments.
The tigers of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Burma, and Malaysia are being
hunted to extinction to satisfy this lucrative trade. The West is not immune to
this craving for useless medicines. In 1995 a survey of Chinese pharmacists and
craft shops in Britain revealed that half were selling products made from tiger
bone. |
