Save Tigers- Indian National Animal is fighting for its Life

The Seriousness of the problem :

TIGERS ON the threshold of extinction. According to WWF, Tigers are amongst the ten most endangered species in the world. Over the last century more than 95 per cent of the Tiger population has been wiped out & three sub-species are already extinct. Less than 3500 tigers remain in the wild today with around 50 per cent in India and their numbers are declining fast. The world is abuzz with news, views and moves in a bid to save the Tiger.

Indian National Animal :

Tigers are the largest and the heaviest animal and national animal of India. Not only is the tiger a beautiful animal but it is also the indicator of the forest's health. The whole world has around one lakh tigers with India only having 40,000 Tigers in the wild at the start of this century. But now just 1411 tigers left in India as per the last count, the government is worried on how to save the national animal. This is one of the prime concerns of the nation right now. The rich biodiversity and natural capital of India can be witnessed in the Tiger Sanctuaries.

But now Our National Animal is fighting for its life!

Why is this happening :

Major population losses & extinction are being faced by Tigers. For sport, skins & body parts, Tigers are murdered. It is mainly because of poaching for tiger fur, bones and other tiger products and loss of their natural habitat due to climate changing and human activities like logging, farming and encroachment of forests.

Some Facts About Tigers :

From around 40,000 tigers at the turn of the last century, there are just 1411 tigers left in India.

2009 was the worst year for tigers in India, with 86 deaths reported.

There are 37 Tiger sanctuaries in India. However, 17 sanctuaries are on the verge of losing their tiger population.

Corbett National Park is the oldest tiger park in India. It was created in 1936 as ‘Hailey National Park’.

There are nine subspecies of the tiger and three of them are extinct. The surviving subspecies are the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) found in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, the Indochinese tiger or Corbett's tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti) found in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, the Malayian Tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni), found in the southern part of the Malay Peninsula, the Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatran), found only on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, the Siberian Tiger (also known as the Amur, Manchurian tiger, or North China tiger) (Panthera tigris altaica), found only in Siberia, and the South China tiger (also known as the Amoy or Xiamen tiger) (Panthera tigris amoyensis), which may be extinct and is only found in South China.

How can we save our National Pride :

Every little bit helps. You can speak up about the cause. You can write or blog about our tigers. Even staying up-to-date with tiger facts like knowledge of tiger sanctuaries, their population, news updates, etc. helps. You can also donate money to NGOs working for the cause, like WWF-India.

Can we save our tigers? Yes We Can.. Here is how!!!

Spread the Word
Let everyone know that our tigers are on the brink of extinction and that they need us. Now. You can start by joining the Save Our Tigers movement on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and spreading the word wherever you go – online or offline.

SMS
A short message can go a long way to help save our tigers. Let all your friends know about the movement through SMS – just type in your message and ask them to visit SaveOurTigers.com to join the roar.

Write to Editors
Write a letter or an email to editors of popular newspapers and magazines, asking them to support the cause and highlight the urgency to save our tigers. The more people we can reach and inform, the louder our roar will be

Donate
Organizations such as WWF and The Corbett Foundation work for tiger conservation and need our active support. If possible, you can chip in with funds, volunteer for work or donate clothes, etc. for the forest guards by tying up with such organizations.

Volunteer for Our Tigers
Your time is the most important contribution for our tigers. If you think you have the skills or the commitment to help the tigers on-site, do contact an NGO working for tiger conservation to volunteer for our tigers.

Preserve our Natural Resources
Loss of habitat is one of our tigers’ biggest problems. We can reduce pressure on forests by avoiding unnecessary use of forest-derived products, such as paper and timber.

Be a Responsible Tourist
Visit tiger sanctuaries and national parks and discover our country’s natural heritage. But please remember that the wilderness is to be experienced, not to be polluted by packets of chips, etc.

Save Tigers, In turn Save Urself :

Saving the tiger means we save the forest since the tiger cannot live in places where trees have vanished and in turn secure food and water for all. If we make sure tigers live, we will have to make sure that deer, antelope and all other animals that the tiger eats or its prey base live. To make sure that these herbivores live, we must make sure that all the trees, grass and other plants that these prey animals need for food are protected. In short, in this way the whole forest gets saved! Saving the tiger means indirectly saving the forests and in turn saving the environment that is reeling under global warming due to massive deforestation.

Felling trees takes away the precious soil, leaving behind a wasteland. The soil jams up our lakes and dams, reducing their ability to store water. By destroying the tiger's home, we not only harm tigers, but also ourselves. The tiger thus becomes the symbol for the protection of all species on our earth since it is at the top of the food-chain. This is why we sometimes call the tiger, an apex predator and an indicator of our ecosystem's health. In short, saving the tiger means saving the earth. Save tigers, save our earth!

The extent of seriousness :

If we at-least don’t take steps now, Our future generation may well put Tigers besides Dinosaurs’ and know about them as extinguish animals. If we don’t act now, We could lose this part of our heritage forever. So Dear Friends Please make your move and save our Tigers.

No matter how big or small, our support can make a difference to save our tigers. There are many credible organizations working towards tiger conservation in India, and they need our support.

Do visit and Join The Roar at Aircel's Save Our Tigers campaign.