Poachers. if you find this picture disturbing, then it has served its purpose. People reckon I am a bit of a hard nut where my emotions are concerned. In fact my grand-daughter jokingly tells me I am emotionally challenged. But I have to tell ya when I came across this story today I was genuinely upset. The article claims that there are around 3500 tigers left in the wild, a huge drop from the 100,000 that roamed the wilds around a hundred years ago. Unless we raise our effort to conserve these beautiful animals they are likely to become extinct in around 20 years from now.
Skins being tanned and prepared for sale.Poachers are a major threat to these beasts. They service the Asian markets. Tiger body parts are in great demand throughout Asia and it is not just the skin that is sought after. Just about all body parts are favoured in Chinese medicine. If you want a run down on just what parts are used and why, check out this site. What will people use to ward off evil spirits when these beasts no longer roam the world.
Senseless slaughter.It is not the poachers alone that are causing the alarming drop in tiger numbers. We are encroaching on their environment to the extent that since the 1940's three of the ten subspecies of tiger have become extinct. Tigers have been around for millions of years, longer than man, yet in such a short period of time we have brought them to the edge of extinction. Now without going into a full blown environmental sermon, we really do need to learn to co-exist with the other animals on this world of ours.
The last Bali tiger?Throughout the ages, man has always taken advantage of the most vulnerable. He will generally go to any lengths to earn a quick dollar. It is this greed that has caused the extinction, or near extinction of a number of creatures. According to the World Conservation Union, "784 extinctions have been recorded since the year 1500, the arbitrary date selected to define "modern" extinctions." Is there anything we can do change this trend?
Make a start by going here to see how you can help the various endangered species. Or maybe you are like me and have a soft spot for the tiger, if that is the case, go here and make a donation. If we want our descendants to be able to see the great cats outside of a book, the time to act is now.
