When you imagine a tiger, what probably comes to mind is the fierce and majestic beast at the very top of the food chain. They seem like there is nothing that can bring them down, and they rule over all the animals in the entirety of Asia. Just under a century ago, that picture would be mostly accurate. But now humans are hunting these striped creatures into near extinction, and their loss of habitat makes their revival very unlikely. If something isn’t done to stop this, tigers will become nothing more than a thing of the past. As their numbers drop rapidly, two causes are the most prominent. Poaching and habitat destruction are causing the tiger population to reduce swiftly.
Poaching is having a horrible effect on the tiger population and causing their numbers to drop significantly. Despite the fact that the hunting of tigers is extremely illegal, poachers still risk it because of how much money they can make. One tiger split into all of its different parts can sell for over $70,000 on the black market. This is mostly because many tiger parts are believed to have miraculous medicinal uses in traditional remedies, even though science has proved otherwise. People also use tiger parts as symbols of strength, from a tiger pelt as a rug to a necklace strung with tiger teeth and claws. Nearly every tiger part has some sort of spiritual use in Chinese culture, and a lot of people are willing to break the law for their traditions. Additionally, meat from tigers is consumed by many