By Paul Graham,
If I were a tiger, my numbers would have been close to 100,000 at the start of the 20th century. It is now estimated that there are only 3,200-3,600 of us tigers still left in the wild. Over this time, three of our subspecies–the Javan, Bali and Caspian tigers…have all gone extinct. The South China tiger, has not been seen in the wild in over 25 years. We are soon to go from “endangered” to “critically endangered.”
“If a man aspires towards a righteous life, his first act of abstinence is
from injury to animals.”
– Leo Tolstoy
If I were a tiger, I would be known as the biggest of the cat species in size. Certainly not in numbers. I am very territorial and need large areas of habitat to roam and live. I enjoy being solitary, but I can be very social when I need to be. I am a very strong swimmer and you will often find me using that ability in bodies of water near where I live. There are many stories and legends about us tigers. We were recently named in a worldwide vote as the most popular animal. My life span in the wild is about the same as in captivity, between 20-26 years. Despite the popularity of tigers, we are not being allowed to live and roam like we used to and we are being hunted and poached. Our numbers are declining to dangerous levels.
If I were a tiger, my numbers would have been close to 100,000 at the start of the 20th century. It is now estimated that there are only 3,200-3,600 of us tigers still left in the wild. Over this time, three of our subspecies–the Javan, Bali and Caspian tigers…have all gone extinct. The South China tiger, has not been seen in the wild in over 25 years. We are soon to go from “endangered” to “critically endangered.” This is the last place before “extinct in the wild” and ultimately, “extinct.” We are being called “enforcement-dependent,” which means that our species could go extinct in a couple of decades without dramatic intervention on the part of humans to save us from other humans.
If I were a tiger, I would have little to fear in the wild except the interaction with humans. They have cut our habitats down to less than seven percent of the range that we used to have. This habitat fragmentation and destruction is literally killing us. We are also the prey of hunters and poachers. There is a huge black market for our body parts in China particularly, which can also then be distributed to other parts of Asia. Our beautiful skins can still sell for as much as $35,000. They also want our organs and body parts like bones, whiskers, eyeballs, penises, paws and claws as souvenirs or for use in supposed traditional Asian medicine. Even though so few of us remain, the demand is at an all-time high and this greed and cruelly is leading us towards our end. They even count our meat as a delicacy in some areas. We are still subject to trophy hunts, even though it is illegal in many places.
If I were a tiger, I could also find myself in captivity. There are almost 5,000 tigers in captivity in the US alone, more than there is left in the wild. In zoos and circuses we are confined to areas that are ridiculously small and nowhere decent or natural for us. To keep us in cages or small habitats is simply torture. In China, there are over 4000 of us tigers living on “farms.” While it is illegal to kill us in China, many of these “farmers” get away with killing us by letting us starve to death. They would say that we then died of “natural” causes. They want us for many things, but especially for our bones, which they boil down to make a medicinal “tiger wine” to help human bones stay strong. This is more tradition than real medical science and the practice is killing us off rapidly.
If I were a tiger, I would have reason to be anxious about my future. The shortsightedness, greed and cruelty of man is once again responsible for this kind of destruction of a species. There may come a day when the only tigers that will be found will be those left in captivity. Greedy humans will find a way to come for us then and the numbers of those in captivity will decline rapidly as well. This coming generation will either be known as the one that allowed for the extinction of a beautiful species of animal, or it will be known as the generation that saved the tiger. To not act is to allow this evil to take place…and we do not have time for that. If you wait, it will simply be too late.
Paul Graham was born and raised in Northern California and has lived in Las Vegas since 2004. He is a top wedding officiate, a green Realtor and writer. He has a daily vegan food blog, Eating Vegan in Vegas which is 365 days and 365 vegan meals in Las Vegas.
Paul’s e-book, Eating Vegan in Vegas: If It Can Happen Here, It Can Happen Anywhere is now available at www.sullivanstpress.com.
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