Among all the animals existing today, the tiger is considered to be one of the most fascinating. The tiger symbolizes speed, power, force and its presence holds a cool confidence that commands respect. It is no wonder, therefore, that the tiger is a popular beast in literature and folklore, usually around Southern Asia. Tigers usually play characters in folk tales, novels and children’s stories. They are also often found portraying antagonistic roles in movies. In Chinese astrology, the year 2010 is known to be the Year of the Metal Tiger. According to this zodiac, people born in the years of the tiger possess similar traits to that of the animal – fierce and strong.
Even though the lion has been nicknamed the ‘king of the jungle’, lions are in fact smaller than tigers. There are many subspecies of tigers that most people may not be aware of. Some are already extinct, like the Balinese, Caspian and Javan tigers, while most are still in existence today. The existing subspecies of tigers are the Bengal, Sumatran, Indochinese, Siberian, Malayan and the South China. The Siberian tiger is considered the largest of all the subspecies, while the Sumatran tiger is the smallest.
Contrary to popular belief, white tigers are not part of a tiger subspecies. They are ordinary tigers that possess mutated genes, known as albinos. Because they are popular animal attractions, many zoos actively breed white tigers. Unfortunately, this mostly involved a lot of inbreeding which results to some tigers possessing genetic dysfunctions such as cleft palates, cross-eyes and even scoliosis.
Sadly, the tiger population has been dwindling rapidly in the last few years. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the worldwide population of the biggest cat has been whittled down to around 3,200. The decline of the tiger population is usually caused by destruction of natural habitats, global warming, hunting and poaching.
The tigers’ natural habitats are usually around areas where the population of humans is high. This results to conflict between men and the big cat, especially when the tigers begin to threaten the villages or towns. They get hunted down until there is none left, to keep the village or town safe.
Poaching tigers have suddenly become more popular just in the past year. Mostly because they pose a challenge to big game hunters who want the tiger skins as trophies or because they can earn a lot of money from those who use the animals’ body parts for medicinal purposes.
Due to the dangerous state of the tiger population, thirteen countries have set a goal to rectify this situation. The summit was held in Bangkok, Thailand last January, where it was agreed that measures should be taken in order to double the tiger population by the year 2022. The WWF’s Tiger Network initiatives, which share the same goals as the Asian tiger summit, were also just launched in February 2010. The 2022 deadlines for these campaigns was chosen because it is the next scheduled Year of the Tiger in the Chinese zodiac. Donating to the WWF Tiger Network will help fund anti-poaching and tiger reserve patrol initiatives.
