We need your help!!!

TO SAVE THE TIGER! Raminder Chowdhary One Earth Foundation

charismatic and evocative species on Earth- The tiger is one of the most charismatic and evocative species on Earth- it is also one of the most threatened. Only 6000 or so remain in the wild, most in isolated pockets spread across increasingly fragmented forests, stretching from India to south-eastern china and from the Russian far east to Sumatra, Indonesia. Across its range, this magnificent animal is being prosecuted. Today tigers are being poisoned, shot, trapped and snared to meet the demands of illegal wildlife trade.

Tiger facts... The scientific name for a tiger is Panthera tigris. Panthera is the genus, and the word means "Roaring Cats," which includes lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars. The species "Tigris" refers to the tiger and is the Latin word for tiger. The full "Linnaean" hierarchy for the tiger is: Kingdom = Animalia Phylum = Chordata Class = Mammalia (mammals) Order = Carnivora (carnivores, or meat eaters) Family = Felidae (cats) Genus = Panthera (roaring cats) Species = tigris (tiger)

SIZE AND FEATURES Typically 3 feet tall to the top of the shoulder, 7-10 feet long from the head to the rear end, with an additional 3 foot long tail, weight ranges from pounds. only species of wild cat with stripes, which are actually pigmentation marks on the skin.

LIFE EXPECTANCY, BIRTH, MATING A typical tiger's life expectancy in the wild is years; somewhat longer in captivity. The oldest tiger on record was 26 years. Although there is no set mating season for tigers, breeding often occurs in the spring. The male may stay with the female for days during this period. Gestation period is typically about 15. The cubs nurse for about 2 months, learn to hunt after about 11 months, and spend the first two years of their lives with their mother, before going out on their own.

Tiger Subspecies Bengal (subspecies tigris)  The Bengal tiger is the most populous type, with between 2500 and 4700 remaining in the wild. mangrove forests of the Sundarbans in eastern India and Bangladesh  Most live in the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans in eastern India and Bangladesh. Some also live in the neighboring countries Bhutan, Myanmar, and Nepal.  There are about 333 Bengal tigers in captivity. Males typically weigh around 500 pounds; the females about 300.  All white tigers are male Bengals and have a double recessive gene that causes the coloration. Official status: ENDANGERED.

Indochinese (subspecies corbett) Indochinese tigers are centered in Thailand, but also in surrounding countries - Myanmar, southern China, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and peninsular Malaysia. They are smaller and darker than Bengal tigers, averaging around 400 pounds for males and 300 for females. Males average about 9 feet long and females about 8 feet in length (not counting the tail). Numbers in the wild are estimated to be in the range There are about 60 in zoos. Official status: ENDANGERED.

Sumatran (subspecies corbett)  The smallest and darkest subspecies, Sumatran tigers are reddish and have closely spaced stripes.  The males average 250 lbs.  About remain in the wild, exclusively on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.  About 210 of this subspecies are captive around the world. Official status: ENDANGERED

Amur/Siberian (subspecies altaica)  These guys are the largest of the big cats.  weighing in at 675 pounds and stretching a full 11 feet.  The heaviest Siberian Tiger on record was 1025 pounds (Guiness Book of World Records).  Only about exist in the wild and there are roughly 490 captive.  Their habitat is mostly Northeastern Russian. Despite their size, they have been known to jump as far as 33 feet. Official status: ENDANGERED

South Chinese (subspecies amoyensis) oUnfortunately, there are perhaps only South Chinese tigers left in the wild and 47 in Chinese zoos. oThey are found in central and eastern China. China joined CITES in 1981 and passed the Wild Animal Protection Law of the People's Republic of China in Official status: ENDANGERED.

Already extinct! The Javan tiger once roamed the Indonesian island of Java. The last one was seen in 1972 and is now believed to be extinct. The Caspian tiger once ranged from Turkey to Central Asia, including Iran, Mongolia, and Central Russia. They went extinct in the 1950's. The Bali tiger existed on the island of Bali. The last one was killed in There are no existing photos of a live Bali tiger

Figure shows how the range of tigers has changed over the past 100 years. Once ranging all throughout India, southeast Asia, central Asia, and eastern China, only small pockets of natural habitat remain.

In early 1900's, world tiger population was estimated at around 100,000. By 1950, this number had dropped to 40,000. The lowest point of tiger population was about 4000 in the 1970s. Due to conservation efforts, the total number of tigers in the wild has increased modestly since then to around today. At least twice that number exist in captivity. The tiger is officially classified as an Endangered Species, as are all of the remaining subspecies. They have been on the Endangered Species list since The tiger population dropped over the past 100 years by a factor of 25 - from an estimated 100,000 in 1900 to only 4000 in the 1970's. A concerted effort by wildlife protection groups in the 1970's halted their rapid demise and the global population of tigers in the wild has grown modestly to around 6000 at the turn of the century).

TIGER TIGER TIGER TIGER Fading Fast! Bitter truth! NATIONAL TIGER CONSERVATION AUTHORITY It’s official-India has just 1,411 tigers. the 2002 census figure of 3500 tigers was clearly an effort to cover up the sarkari failure to protect the glorious cat. This is the stark finding of the NATIONAL TIGER CONSERVATION AUTHORITY estimation report. Safe havens dark holes Corbett,Uttarakhand Palamau,Jharkhand Kaziranga,Assam Nagarjun Srisailam,Andhra Pradesh Nagarhole,Karnataka Indravati,Chattisgarh Kanha,Bandhavgarh, Madhya Pradesh Ranthambore, Rajasthan

BIG CATS IN PERIL JAN 2, 2008 : One tiger seized at Bandipur,Karnataka Jan 6: A tiger poisoned to death at Wynad at Kerala. Jan 7: One tiger found dead at Kanha,MP. Jan 13: Three pieces of tiger bones seized at Jaigaon,West Bengal. Jan 21: One tiger skin seized at Munnar,Kerala. Jan 28: Tigress found dead at Katerniaghat,Uttar Pradesh. Jan 29: One tiger found dead at Gudalur, Tamil Nadu Feb 8: A tiger killed in road accident South Kheri division, UP Feb11: One tiger found dead at Melghat,Maharashtra.

CAUSES FOR TIGER DEMISE 1)UNLIMITED POACHING a) supplying underground black markets with its organs, pelts and bones, which are used for fur, Chinese medicine. Dead tiger's parts are worth as much as $200,000 on the black market. The trade continues today in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Singapore, although tiger medicine is a hoax and has been shown to have no curative powers. b) hunted for recreation. 2)Human expansion 3) deforestation (insecticides have reduced the danger of malarial mosquitoes in India, making land habitable that was previously home to tigers).

Can they be saved? Yes! 1) Saving the forest patches. 2) Waging a war against poaching in tiger-breeding zones. The strictest enforcement of anti-poaching laws is a must-especially in the “hot spots”. 3) We need to make a national pledge-there will be no further shrinkage. Instead of spending a few crores thinly across the entire country, more can be achieved by focusing money and effort on identified “hot spots” like Corbett, Bandhavgarh, Kanha and some parts of the northeast where tigers truly have a chance to breed and grow.