The Tiger a most majestic animal - Big Cat Beauties of Nature

TIGERS have fascinated people all over the world.

   In the Chinese zodiac, this is the Year of the Tiger — You see, each year of the Chinese lunar calendar is associated with an animal. There are 12 animals with each animal reflecting key characteristics that are likely to dominant that year.

   While many Asian countries having been celebrating 2010 as the Year of the Tiger which began February 14, of this year. These beautiful big cats are under an extreme threat of extinction. As few as 3,500 tigers exist in the wild in Asia where they are threatened by poaching, illegal trafficking, habitat loss & climate changes .

   There are 6 out of 9 species of tigers left on Earth. All 6 of these remaining species are considered to be endangered. Most of the species have less than 1,000 of them remaining. Believe it or not, but there are more tigers in captivity then in the wild. Recent studies estimates that between 3,500 and 5,000 remain in the wild. While, roughly 8,000+ are in captivity ( Zoos, conservations, reserves, circus, etc.,). An undertimed number are also being privately kept by regular citizens worldwide as pets. As with many states here in the US, the government has few regulations on individuals keeping tigers in captivity, who owns them, how their treated, where they are, or what happens to them when they die.

   3 tiger sub-species have gone extinct since the 1940s and a 4th, the South China tiger, has not been seen in the wild in over 25 years. With an entire population of tigers, that has become an international scandal, vanishing from a forest sanctuary (Sariska Tiger Reserve) in the Indian state of Rajasthan because of poaching. With illegal trafficking in tiger bones, furs and skins suppling demands in much of Asia. The future for these animals does not look very promising.

As one of the most majestic animals on the planet, it hard to swallow that these Big cat beauties of nature are on the verge of extinction. The Sumatran tiger will disappear in a few years unless poaching, trading and the destruction of its forest habitat are halted immediately. The reason for these acts are not just pouchers selfish greed of money (which does account for hugh portion to these tigers extinction. For some villages in different parts of the world it is their only source of income), but many anicent customs such as the use of tiger parts in medicine contribute to the demand in the black market arena. Some using their heads as trophies, their fur as rugs and/or wall hangers. The chopping down of forests so the tigers can not survive also a factor.

Experts are seeing a last glimmer of hope, only if conservation and protection are implemted and enforced. Also thought has to be into protection against inbreeding so that the genetic pool of these animals are not compromised in the process.

WWF is releasing a new interactive map of the world's top 10 tiger trouble spots www.worldwildlife.org/troublespots and the main threats against tigers. WWF is also launching a campaign: Tx2: Double or Nothing to support tiger range states in their goal of doubling wild tiger numbers by the next Year of the Tiger in 2022.

Mike Baltzer, Leader of WWF's Tiger Initiative says "Tigers are being persecuted across their range -- poisoned, trapped, snared, shot and squeezed out of their homes. But there is hope for them in this Year of the Tiger. There has never been such a committed, ambitious, high-level commitment from governments to double wild tiger numbers. They have set the bar high and we hope for the sake of tigers and people that they reach it."

A recent meeting leading up to the Vladivostok Summit held in Hua Hin, Thailand, has all 13 tiger range countries committed to the goal of doubling tiger numbers by 2022. This Summit will be co-hosted by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and World Bank President Robert Zoellick. WWF and other members of the Global Tiger Initiative are also sure to assist in all areas to ensure that this goal is fulfilled.

"We may not get another opportunity like this with so much political will from the tiger range countries and attention from so many institutions and people around the world," said Sybille Klenzendorf, Director of the WWF-US Species Program. "The situation for tigers is a sobering one, but if we seize this moment and maintain it for the long term, the next Year of the Tiger may give us real reason to celebrate

INTERESTING FACTS:

• The tiger is one the largest of the four big cats,

• Tigers tend to be loners.

• They tend to go their own ways except when mating. A female can produce up to 4 cubs approx. 16 weeks after conception. Her cubs are born blind. While nursing milk from the female up to 8 weeks. Another issue is that less than half of their offspring live to be 2 yeas of age, Those that do survive usually live about 10 - 15 years in the wild. In captivity they can live about 20 years on average. Tigers have fully developed canines by 16 months of age. They have the largest canine teeth of all land-eating animals.

• As with lions, male tigers may kill a female's cubs if the cubs are the offspring of another male. This ensures that the female will come into oestrus and bear the new male's offspring. Cubs will stay with their mothers up to 24 months at which time they will set out to find their own territories.

• A mother will have to bring back to her den up to 3 times the amount of food she normally gathers.

• The patterns of stripes help to identify themselves just like human's fingerprints. Tigers can come in black, with white and yellow stripes. The stripes also help them to camouflage during the day or night, while lighter shades in snowy places. The Sumatran tiger has the most stripes of all the tiger subspecies while the Siberian tiger has the fewest.

• Their whiskers are sensitive to help them to avoid rocks, trees and othe obstacles.

• They can live in different types of environments..... jungles, swamps, forest, cold & snow! In the winter a tiger can doubles its fur coat. Tigers can swims in lakes and water holes.

• Their night vision can be 6 times better than that of humans, this aids them to hunt at night. Sleeping animals are easier to hunt. Tigers are extremely calculated when it comes to hunting. But it may take them 15-20 attempts to get one meal, because other animals runs almost as fast as them.

• Tigers are capable of leaping more than 30 feet, an added advantage when it comes to finding and attacking their prey. Biting its prey in the nerve cord on the spine. Klling their quickly: Their main diet includes large animals such as: antelope, deer, buffalo and wild pigs, but they will also hunt fish, monkeys, birds, reptiles and even baby elephants. Occasionally, tigers kill other tigers, leopards and even bears.