The Declining Population Of Tigers and Its Causes

A hundred years ago there were 100,000 tigers in the wild. It is now estimated that, worldwide, there are only about 3,900 tigers left in the wild, putting tigers in danger of extinction.

Even though 3 subspecies of tigers are extinct, 6 more do still exist. These six include Siberian, Bengal, Sumatran, South-China, Indochinese, and Malayan tigers. All of these tigers are endangered according to IUCN.

Causes of decline in their numbers

• Diseases
  • Various diseases take their toll silently on the wildlife, including the predators. Many animals die and there is no way to ascertain the cause of their death. Diseases like Feline Panleukopenia, tuberculosis, sarcocystis etc. have led to the decimation of many animals including tigers. Health management of wildlife, a relatively new area, is totally neglected.
  • There is an urgent need to incorporate this field in the area of wildlife conservation.
• Habitat loss & Human-animal conflict
  • The key findings of study of tiger population have indicated that in many sites, tigers decline in numbers because of habitat loss and prey depletion rather than being poached. A tiger needs to eat about 50 deer-sized animals or 6,600 pounds of living prey every year. Wherever prey-base is adequate and good protection measures are in place tiger populations reach high numbers simply because the species breeds quickly.
  • But clearing of forests for various purposes for agriculture, timber, development activity, growing population etc. has led to loss of their natural habitat . Its habitat has been fragmented, lowering chances of survival. Lack of tiger habitats is also leading to excessive inbreeding between tigers causing genetic anomalies — which is not a good news for the tiger population.
  • Man-Animal conflict which is another major factor that affects the big cats. As humans move deeper into the territory of tigers, chances of conflict between both sides increase many fold. Men and livestock often become the victim of tiger attacks. This ushers for revenge killing.
• Poaching and illegal trade
  • With a value of between $7 billion and $23 billion each year, illegal wildlife trafficking is the fourth most lucrative global crime after drugs, humans and arms.
  • Tigers face poaching for demand of every part of their body from whiskers to tail for traditional Chinese medicines. They fetch high prices in the illegal wildlife trades around $50,000.
• Lack of Protection Infrastructure
  • Forest and wildlife do not figure on the priority lists of countries, consequently forest departments usually suffer from the paucity of funds.
  • Under staffing, adequate numbers of arms are not available; same is the case with vehicles and communication equipments. Contrary to this, poachers flaunt sophisticated arms and technology. There are also cases of corrupt forest officials who collude with poachers to provide information on tigers’ location in exchange for bribes.
• Climate Change
  • Rising sea level as a result of climate change is wiping out Sundarbans, one of the last remaining habitats of majestic Royal Bengal tigers. With the ocean swallowing up land in the world’s largest mangrove forest, humans and tigers are being squeezed into an ever-shrinking space in the Indian Sundarbans, with deadly consequences. The sea has encroached into the tigers’ hunting grounds, pushing them to target humans and livestock alike. At the same time, villagers are venturing deeper into tiger territory, putting them at even greater risk of tiger attacks.

India’s tiger crisis

As India has about 70% of the world’s tiger population, the tiger crisis in India is particularly tragic. It’s ironic that the world’s first tiger conservationist, tiger hunter-turned-protector Jim Corbett hailed from India – and started sounding an alarm as far back as the 1930s.

Decoding the Tiger poaching and it’s supply chain

Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka are particularly vulnerable regions to poaching as the rebounding tiger populations attract poachers who rapidly transport body parts to nearby hubs of illegal wildlife trade. The India-Nepal border and the northeast borders are also used to feed the demands of consumers in China and other Southeast Asian countries.

The dark game plan of this whole operation

• The poachers first track the road that a tiger takes. They conveniently lay a trap after studying the behaviour of the tiger. A jaw trap is laid and the tiger is caught.
• In pain, the tiger can either roar or be quiet. However, what happens next is unbelievable, redefining the meaning of cruelty itself.
• After the tiger is captured, it is attacked on the nose to anger it. The tiger bites the spear, and there is no damage to the skin. The spear lodges itself inside the throat of the tiger and it inevitably dies. If the tiger does not die on the first try, the spear is used again and again.
• The tiger is immediately skinned with tanning material. The organised and well-oiled trade chain ensures that the body parts are disposed rapidly with minimal chances of detection.
• The skin and other parts are shifted to the carrier. The role of the poacher ends here. The carrier preferably takes a ride to a nearby city such as Raipur, Delhi, Bhopal and Lucknow where he meets a designated person, hands over the skin and goes back.
• The poachers make anywhere between Rs 20,000 to1 lakh, and the middlemen earn anywhere between Rs 10-70 lakhs. The customer in a foreign market pays around Rs 1 crore, while customers within India are known to pay Rs 20-50 lakhs.
• If arrested, convictions are slow and rare. No one carries any proof of the crime.
• One less tiger in the country now!

Conclusion

Now more than ever, conservation organizations, local and national governments, and communities are all working together to fight against the threats that tigers are facing today.

A combination of sustained education, better enforcement, greater inter-country and inter-state coordination, more support for the forest staff can really make the wildlife of India more liberal and distinguished.