Save Tigers

“There is enough for everybody’s need but not for anybody’s greed” these lines were quoted by the father of our nation who was very apt in voicing his concern about wildlife conservation. Indeed mother nature provides us with enough resources for our need but when that need changes into greed we start exploiting the earth. This greed of a human has bout the world’s most majestic animal to the verge of extinction. ABOUT TIGERS

The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to 3.3 metres (11 ft) and weighing up to 306 kg (670 lb). They are the third largest land carnivore (behind only the Polar bear and the Brown bear). Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur. There are nine subspecies of tiger, three of which are extinct. Their historical range in Bangladesh, Siberia, Iran, Afghanistan, India, China, and southeast Asia, including three Indonesian islands is severely diminished today. The Bengal tiger

The Indochinese Tiger
The Malayan Tiger
The Sumatran Tiger
The Siberian tiger
The South China tiger
EXTINCT SPECIES
The Bali tiger
The Caspian tiger
The Javan tiger

Colour variations
White tigers Formed by the intermixing of various subspecies and genes of various tigers Golden tiger
Maltese tiger which is blue or slate colored
Fast facts
Tigers that live in cold northern areas are usually bigger and heavier than those that live in tropical habitats. No two tigers have exactly the same pattern of stripes.
A tiger retracts its claws as it walks, leaving no claw marks in its tracks.
Tigers hunt at night; they can see well in the dark.

A tiger’s roar can be heard as far as two miles (three kilometers) away. In captivity, a tiger can live to be 26 years old.
Tigers live in both tropical and temperate forests as well as in swamps. They are never found far from water. Tigers live alone, except for mothers and their young. A male and female tiger come together to mate, and then go their separate ways. A female tiger may have from one to six cubs in a litter. The average is two or three. She raises them on her own. By the time tiger cubs are one year old they can kill prey, but they generally stay with their mothers until they’re at least two years old. A tiger marks its territory by spraying trees and bushes (contained inside the territory) with its urine, and also leaves deep scratches on tree trunks. One averaged sized tiger can eat upto 60 pounds of meat at a single time! The tendons in a tiger’s leg are very strong: even after being shot dead, a tiger was known to have remained standing. That’s strength. A tiger’s saliva is antiseptic, and comes handy when a tiger cleans its wounds. Also, if you were to shave all the fur off a tiger’s skin, the stripes would still remain! TIGER GETTING ENDANGERED

Tigers are endangered mainly from poachers. Poachers are people who hunt illegally. There used to be 100,000 tigers in Asia alone and now there are only 4,000 tigers left around the whole world. The main predator of the tiger is humankind. They have been trapped, poisoned and hunted heavily by humans not only to eliminate threats to livestock, but also for sport, trophies, skins, and sources of traditional medical products. Superstition has surrounded tigers for centuries; their body parts are used in Asian medicines. Humans have also altered the natural habitats of tigers by their destruction and encroachment on the tigers’ feeding range; humans are destroying their habitats by cutting down trees, moving into their preferred locations, polluting the water and air, and hunting their prey. An intense effort is under way to save the endangered tigers. Unfortunately, tigers are still illegally hunted for their fur, bones and other parts to supply markets in China and Taiwan. Tigers have been hunted to near extinction by poachers, and all subspecies have been declared endangered.

The tiger is not just a charismatic species or just another wild animal living in some far away forest. The tiger is a unique animal which plays a pivotal role in the health and diversity of an ecosystem. It is a top predator which is at the apex of the food chain and keeps the population of wild ungulates in check, thereby maintaining the balance between prey herbivores and the vegetation upon which they feed. Therefore, the presence of tigers in the forest is an indicator of the well being of the ecosystem. The extinction of this top predator is an indication that its ecosystem is not sufficiently protected, and neither would it exist for long thereafter.

If the tigers go extinct, the entire system would collapse. For e.g. when the Dodos went extinct in Mauritius, one species of Acacia tree stopped regenerating completely. So when a species goes extinct, it leaves behind a scar, which affects the entire ecosystem.

Therefore, it’s not just about saving a beautiful animal. It is about making sure that we live a little longer as the forests are known to provide ecological services like clean air, water, pollination, temperature regulation etc. Today there are Less than 3,200 remain in the wild with just 3642 left in India. According to the WWF research it the 7th most endangered species in the world. We have lost 97% of our wild tigers in just over a century. HOW TO SAVE TIGERS

Awareness on how to save Indian tiger is must in the current scenarios. Some of the ways you can save an Indian tiger are mentioned below 1. Create awareness
The indian tiger is in danger and only excessive awareness programs can save the species. Everybody can help if they did their part. You could help as well 2. Educating the people

The people who do the most harm to the forests are those living nearby them. They need to be educated about the significance of tigers if they wish to see the Eco system balanced. If there will be no tigers then we will not find any grass on our planet because there will nobody to stop the grass eating animals from eating all the grass. 3. Discourage poaching:

Hunting of tigers is banned because selling tiger skin or any other body parts is the biggest reason why indian tigers are going extinct. If you know somebody who is involved in indian tiger hunting then it is your duty to report the officials. 4. Support a cause

If you see a program running to save the indian tiger, you should take part in it and support their cause. These are some of the simplest ways you can adopt to save the Indian tiger from becoming extinct. Tiger Conservation Through Project Tiger

In 1972 Project Tiger was initiated to bring certain tiger conservation plans into action. The main aim behind Project Tiger was to protect the Bengal Tigers living in several regions of India. To achieve the mission of tiger conservation they set up several tiger reserves. The tiger reserves had the responsibility of maintaining natural environment of the regions where tigers dwelled the most. CONCLUSION

As we all know every single drop of water contributes to making an ocean so lets wake up and and contribute something towards mother nature by taking some small steps.