THE
SIBERIAN TIGER
by Adriel Teo
It is estimated the wild population of
Siberian tigers at around 350-450 tigers.
Almost all wild Siberian tigers live the Southeast corner of
Russia in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range east of the Amur River. Their former
range included northeastern China and the Korean Peninsula, and as far west as
Mongolia. They are the largest of the tiger species and can grow up to 13 feet
in length and weigh up to 700 lbs.
The Siberian - or Amur - tiger is
considered a critically endangered species with the
primary threats to its’ survival in the wild being poaching and habitat loss
from intensive logging and development.
WHY ARE THEY POACHED?
Tigers are most commonly poached for
their fur and for their body parts used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is
estimated that in 1991 alone, one-third of the Siberian tiger population was
killed to meet the demand for their bones and other parts used in this
practice.
WHAT MUST WE
DO TO PREVENT THE TIGER’S EXTINCTION?
in essence, for the
Siberian tiger to survive in the wild, and no longer be considered and endangered species, two things
must happen. First, habitat encroachment must stop and secondly, the thousands
of years old tradition of using tiger parts for medicinal purposes must also
end.
Lets
Work together to prevent the Tiger’s Extinction!
