Bengal Tigers Essay Example

Bengal Tigers Essay Example Bengal Tigers Paper Bengal Tigers Paper Royal Bengal Tiger The Royal Bengal Tiger, once known as the reigning feline of Asia, are now on the brink of extinction. This beautiful species is quickly disappearing due to human activity. Land development has pushed back forestry, which is making it almost impossible for tigers to survive in their range of natural habitat. Additionally, even though it’s illegal to own, hunt or trap tigers, poachers continue to trap and sell tiger parts on the black market. Furthermore, tigers are being separated by â€Å"population fragmentation† which prevents them from mating and producing healthy cubs. Although conservation centers are providing safe havens for tigers, they are not seeing the results they expected. Royal Bengal Tigers are a majestic and alluring animal that will no longer exist if humans continue to poach them and take away their natural habitat. Due to massive human population increase in India, tigers have lost most of their natural habitat in the rain forest. According to the World Wildlife Federation, â€Å"Royal Bengal Tigers have lost 93% of their range and habitat in the last forty years. At the expense of tigers, forestry and grass lands were destroyed to develop land for agricultural and housing use to accommodate the accelerated population of humans. Jonathan Wright, an expert on Royal Bengal Tigers, explains that male tigers are loners and do not share their hunting grounds, with other males’ only females; they need a large home range. Each male tiger requires 20-30 square miles to mate, hunt and roam, however, this natural process cannot take place without the sanctuary of trees, grasslands and vegetation tigers need to exist. A large amount of forest range in Asia as has been destroyed to improve the lives of humans but has endangered the existence of tigers. Although, it is illegal to hunt, own or kill a tiger, the reduced size of the forest has made it easier for human poachers to trap, kill and sell them on the black market. A National Geographic article says, there were over 100,000 Royal Bengal Tigers just over 100 years ago but now there are less than 2,000 in the wild and about 300 in captivity. These numbers show that there has been a high demand for tigers and their body parts for a long time. According to Tigers in Crises, â€Å"Using tiger body parts in traditional Chinese medicine is nothing new, but what is new is not being able to meet the huge demand for the body parts. † Not only is there a demand for a Tigers fur, rugs and coats, but their bones and organs are also in demand. A small bowl of tiger gall bladder soup cost $320. 00. Not one medical treatment using tiger parts has been proven to cure or even help any illnesses. The high demand for a tigers body parts and the unbelievable prices that human will pay are what encourage greedy poachers to trap and kill these endangered tigers. Population fragmentation,† is another dangerous threat the Royal Bengal faces, prevents the tigers to mate and reproduce healthy cubs. According to the Environmental Investigation Agency (EAI) in London, â€Å"As habitat is lost, people move farther into what was the forest. Groups of tigers become separated from one another by villages, farms, fences and roads. † Tigers in one area can no longer mate with tigers in nearby areas. Instead, tigers breed with the same small group of animals. Over time, this inbreeding weakens the gene pool and tigers are born with birth defects. Many inbred cubs don’t live to the age of two. If more land is not given to tigers in the wild they will be extinct by 2022, and those living in conservation centers will soon follow. Conservation centers are safe havens to protect tigers with hope to save them from extinction, the results are disappointing. Leigh Pitsko, a zoologist, studied many of the conservation centers and discovered that some of the cats had strange habits. The tigers would pace back and forth and twist their head from side to side. She discovered the tigers were doing these strange behaviors because they were stress and bored. The area they lived in was too small for them to run, roam and hunt. Many tigers raised in these centers would eventually get released into the wild but were not surviving. While living in conservations, tigers would not hunt for food, workers would prepare it for them. So when they were released in the wild they would starve and die. Conservation did not have live animals for the tigers to hunt, so they never learned how to hunt their prey. Conservation centers want to help tigers but they need their natural habitat to survive. All in all, if humans don’t stop poaching tigers and taking their land there will no longer be Royal Bengal Tigers for us to look at in awe. In the near future we will talk about the beautiful majestic cat that once existed. But, this does not have to happen. If more land is preserve for them to roam and hunt and mate. In their natural habitat they can multiply in a safe and healthy environment. Also, laws against poaching, selling and buying tiger body parts need to be strongly enforced with punishment. Tigers can still be saved and eventually taken off the endangered list, if and only if, humans can keep their paws off the tiger and their land. Royal Bengal Tiger Introduction (thesis statement) Tigers are a majestic and alluring animal that will no longer exist if humans continue to poach them and take away their natural habitat. I. Due to massive human population increase in India, tigers have lost most of their natural habitat in the rain forest. A. Loss of range and habitat because of humans B. Tigers need large range areas II. Although, it is illegal to hunt, own or kill a tiger, the reduced size of the forest has made it easier for human poachers to trap, kill and sell them on the black market. A. Poaching for coats, rugs, B. Poached for medicine III. â€Å"Population fragmentation,† is another dangerous threat the Royal Bengal faces, prevents the tigers to mate and reproduce healthy cubs. A. Tigers become separated B. Tigers cannot breed IV. Conservation centers are safe havens to protect tigers with hope to save them from extinction, the results are disappointing. A. Tigers don’t act normal B. Don’t know how to survive in the wild Conclusion All in all, if humans don’t stop poaching tigers and taking their land there will no longer be Royal Bengal Tigers for us to look at in awe