According to the World Wildlife Fund, 3 out of 8 subspecies of tiger are already extinct and Sumatran tiger is one of the last 5 subspecies
Firstly, a national wildlife crime network should be built immediately as high demand on tigers’ body parts for Chinese traditional medicine is the driving force of illegal trading. China has a huge highly profitable black market for trading tiger parts which are used in traditional Chinese medicine. This can help create a national lobby and media campaign to raise people’s awareness of wildlife. So, if consumers have knowledge about using alternative products in place of products from rare animals, illegal hunting can be reduced. Furthermore, it can lobby to increase the harshness of sentences against those poachers who hunt tigers for parts of their body such as tiger bones, gall bladders and eyes. Tiger hunting is illegal in all over the world but third world countries do not have enough power to track or arrest the poachers. Thus, bond between countries can be built and strengthened by signing contract to ban the trade of tiger parts or products often sought for use in traditional Chinese medicine. In short, without consumer awareness, the illegal trading and poaching of tigers may continue.
In addition, building parks and establishing forest reserves are good methods to preserve tigers’ natural habitat. Tigers stay and hunt in forest. Once the forest disappeared, tigers lose their living place and source of food as well. Government can help to set aside areas for tiger protection. These places should have these terms: logging is banned and the human population is sparse to put less pressure on tigers. Setting up refuge for the tigers seems difficult for some countries because they need more space to develop their economic activities. But, employment opportunities for the district administration will improve. For example, retired soldiers can seek jobs as guardians of those parks. To prevent the disappearance of tigers’ natural habitat, government can consider paying villagers to protect their own source of survival, the forest which provides the tigers food, water and shelter. In summary, conserving the natural habitat can help to prevent the extinction of tigers.
Last, making zoos become the habitat of tigers might be the only way to save the tigers if none of the solutions above is taken. Maybe after a few decades, Sumatran tigers could only be found in the zoos. Imagine an Asian father points to the tigers in the cage, while telling his son that the Sumatran tigers were once living in the wild and hunting for their food themselves. So, the visitors of zoo will be educated about tiger in the wild, thereby “contributing to public support for conservation efforts”
Now is the time to save these magnificent cats before they vanish from the earth forever. If we do not want humans to be the last creature on the earth, it is time to wake the public up now and take immediate action. Extinction of humans maybe is exaggerated but if watch from an angle of long-term, what will happen to the humans, the final stage of food chain, when halfway of this chain is broken? Each creature stands an important position in the eco-system which indirectly influences every members of the eco-system. Protecting tigers is not solely for the next generation but for humans in present now.
Bibliography
Owen, W. (1991). Great Cats: Majestic Creatures of the Wild. (J. &. Seidenstickers, Ed.) Emmaus: Rodale Press, Inc.
Sumatra tiger 'faces extinction'. (2002, June 7). Retrieved February 16, 2008, from BBC NEWS Asia-Pacific: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2031509.stm
Sumatran tiger on the brink of extinction. (2004, March 16 ). Retrieved February 16, 2008, from WWF - UK: http://www.wwf.org.uk/news/n_0000001145.asp
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