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August 30, 2007

The Coming Tiger Extinction

The dramatic decline of the world's wild tigers is an absolute tragedy. In little more than a century 95 per cent of wild tigers have been wiped out, three of the seven sub-species (Javan, Bali and Caspian) have become extinct, and within the next few decades we may see the disappearance of the planet's most spectacular predator from the wild forever.
...
New statistics indicating that there may only be 1300 tigers left in India - a third of the 2002 population estimates - make deeply depressing reading. If they are being decimated in India - their stronghold - what hope can there be for the species?

Lucky that there's some 25,000 tigers in captivity in the US alone then really.

August 30, 2007 in Environmentalism | Permalink

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Tracked on Aug 31, 2007 10:28:16 AM

Comments

So what's the message ? Private ownership of tigers trumps "public" ownership. "Don't shoot _my_ tiger" compared to; shoot as many as you can before they catch you ?

Wasn't there a scheme about villages "owning" wild elephants and rhinos in Africa some years back that seemed to solve the poaching crisis, i.e. a bunch of angry villagers with big sticks was a bigger deterrent than big government and unenforcable protection laws ?

Posted by: IanCroydon | Aug 30, 2007 9:11:53 AM

"Lucky that there's some 25,000 tigers in captivity in the US alone then really."

Not really. As I commented last time this came up, a lot of them are hybrids, and so not much use for preserving the distinct subspecies.

"Wasn't there a scheme about villages "owning" wild elephants and rhinos in Africa some years back that seemed to solve the poaching crisis, i.e. a bunch of angry villagers with big sticks was a bigger deterrent than big government and unenforcable protection laws?"

Yes, that's a tack that's pushed a lot (ascribing value to wildlife that then benefits the people who have to live with it), and does tend to reduce poaching for the pot/killing to prevent crop damage.

Of course, the animal rights loonies object when it's pushed by game farms for trophy shooters, but who cares what they think... ;)

Posted by: JuliaM | Aug 30, 2007 9:25:15 AM

Via Carpe Diem. Although it is about elephants it would equally apply to tigers:

http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2007/03/save-elephants-buy-ivory.html

Posted by: Kit | Aug 30, 2007 11:17:04 AM

Captive tigers are better than no tigers, but it'd be nice if there were tigers in the wild too.

Posted by: Philip Hunt | Aug 30, 2007 2:20:32 PM

Caught the eye immediately. It's more than a tragedy - it's a crime.

Posted by: jameshigham | Aug 30, 2007 2:43:24 PM