Tiger Conservation Efforts

Tiger Conservation Efforts

For centuries the tiger has been hunted both as a sport and for the delightful coat that it offers. All of that time though no one really thought about the future for these animals. That is why today we are desperately seeking ways to get their numbers up before it really is too late. Many people have already written them off to the history books but thankfully many involved with tiger conservation are dedicated to continue fighting until the very end.

The extent of the conservation efforts you will find really depend on the area where these tigers are living. India is where most of the tigers that remain in the world are still found in the wild. There has been efforts in place for conservation since 1973 to protect them. However, there are also many people in India that fear death by the tiger so they continue to kill them. They feel it is better to hunt these animals than to be hunted themselves.

In the 1940’s the Siberian Tiger was almost extinct in Russia. Thanks to very aggressive conservation laws the numbers were climbing until the 1990’s. This is when the economy of Russia crumbled and hunting them became a vital way to make money fast. Today efforts remain in place to prevent the killing of the Siberian Tiger there. With less than 500 of them left, each one that dies brings the species closer to extinction.

Since the 1970’s tigers have been protected in some form in all areas except for Burma. However, they continue to be shot for their habitat and for their pelts. To help avoid getting caught for illegal actions many of these poachers have stopped using guns. Instead they use poison to kill the tigers and to sneak under the radar.

The campaign to stop the wearing of furs from many animals including the tiger though has definitely been a conservation effort that slowed these events. Since the market dropped for the pelts people weren’t making the huge profits from them anymore. As a result they focused their attention on more profitable endeavors. A huge problem that remains though are the bones being ground up for medicines made in China.

Even with conservation efforts in place the numbers of the various species of tigers out there is drastically low. Their habitats continue to be taken away by humans. At the very least they are threatened due to human activities including pollution and global warming. The lack of diversity in the gene pool is a huge concern when you are talking about the conservation of tigers. While they are still breeding they are doing so with those too closely related to them. As a result the future for them is one that isn’t looking very bright yet.

However, there is still hope that with genetic profiling both in the wild and of those tigers in captivity that the numbers of them will slowly increase instead of decreasing. Stronger laws and penalties in place for poaching also need to be made a priority. The laws themselves aren’t effective if people don’t feel that there is too much of a risk for them to be involved in such hunting activities.

Recently the tiger was acknowledged as the most popular animal of people. This is encouraging because if people are recognizing it to that degree then many of those individuals want to help protect it. You can visit your local zoo to find our more about how you can be involved in such conservation efforts. You can also go online to find out more about the different organizations dedicated to protecting the tiger.