Endangered Tigers
It is a desperate time for the world's tigers. There were once a lot of these majestic creatures throughout eastern and southern Asia. Now, wild tigers live only in small areas of India, China, eastern Russia, and a few other countries. Conservationists have been working for decades to save the big cats but the number of wild tigers continues to drop. There were an estimated 100,000 tigers living in the wild a century ago, compared with no more than 5,000 today. Now, a new conservation idea is being discussed that could stop wild tigers from becoming extinct?
As people change forests to cities and farms, tigers have lost their living areas. On top of that, poaching—the illegal hunting of wild animals—is a major threat to the cat's survival.
People sometimes hunt endangered species, like the tiger, to illegally sell the animal's body parts for souvenirs, medicines, and even food. Some people even pay high prices to buy tiger skins or other animal parts on the black market. By selling just one tiger, poachers can make enough money to live for a full year.
A lot of people think that the tiger can really heal people. For more than 3,000 years, Chinese medicine has used tiger parts to treat sickness and injury. Followers of this type of medicine believe that eating the animal's body parts will help cure diseases. For instance, a tonic made of tiger-bone powder and herbs is used to treat bone injuries and diseases, like arthritis, a painful inflammation of the body's joints.
Conservationists believe that a key to saving the world's wild tigers from extinction is to put an end to poaching of tigers. To achieve that more police need to be trained to catch the hunters and take them to court. In addition the selling and trading of products made from endangered species on the black market should be better controlled.
In China, there are establishments known as tiger farms. There, tourists are allowed to ride in protected cars and observe tigers. The animals live in
As people change forests to cities and farms, tigers have lost their living areas. On top of that, poaching—the illegal hunting of wild animals—is a major threat to the cat's survival.
People sometimes hunt endangered species, like the tiger, to illegally sell the animal's body parts for souvenirs, medicines, and even food. Some people even pay high prices to buy tiger skins or other animal parts on the black market. By selling just one tiger, poachers can make enough money to live for a full year.
A lot of people think that the tiger can really heal people. For more than 3,000 years, Chinese medicine has used tiger parts to treat sickness and injury. Followers of this type of medicine believe that eating the animal's body parts will help cure diseases. For instance, a tonic made of tiger-bone powder and herbs is used to treat bone injuries and diseases, like arthritis, a painful inflammation of the body's joints.
Conservationists believe that a key to saving the world's wild tigers from extinction is to put an end to poaching of tigers. To achieve that more police need to be trained to catch the hunters and take them to court. In addition the selling and trading of products made from endangered species on the black market should be better controlled.
In China, there are establishments known as tiger farms. There, tourists are allowed to ride in protected cars and observe tigers. The animals live in