Most big cat organizations agree that poaching is the main threat that tigers face. For this website poaching refers to hunting, game hunting or trophy hunting, direct and indirect killings, and retaliation killings of tigers. There are multiple reasons as to why tigers are being poached. Like rhino horn and elephant ivory, tiger skins and parts are considered a luxury and prestigious item in many cultures (SWT, 2020). All parts of the tiger, from whisker to tail, have been found in illegal wildlife markets (WWF, 2020). Poaching can occur by killing a tiger in the wild or by breeding a tiger and killing it on a tiger farm, but the wild tiger body parts are always seen as more prestigious (SWT, 2020). This conflict has the greatest potential to do the maximum harm in a short time (MyCat, 2020).
Poaching is usually carried about by organized gangs (Guynup, 2014). Poaching can be carried by the use of poison, steel traps, electrocution, or firearms, although bullet holes ruin the skin and make it undesirable (WPSI, 2020). Poaching is a 20 billion dollar a year business (Panthera, 2020). Tiger body parts can go up to $50,000 on the black market (BCA, 2020). According to Belinda Wright, founder and executive director of Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), so far in 2020 there have been 56 tigers poached in India alone, and in 2019 there were 75 tigers poached in India (WPSI, 2020). The National Tiger Conservation Authority claims that between 2012 and 2019 poaching is the highest cause of tiger mortality, excluding natural deaths (NTCA, 2020). You can see this in the image below from the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
Tigers are being poached for their bones, teeth, and claws for medicinal purposes including tiger bone wine, their skins for rugs and decor, their meat as a luxury food item, and direct killings either before or after a possible livestock attack (BCA, 2020; Guynup, 2014; Panthera, 2020; SWT, 2020). Their body parts are used in traditional medicine and are believed to have healing powers, although there is no scientific evidence showing this (BCA, 2020; UNODC, 2020). Since tigers symbolize strength and power people believe their bones will share that with anyone who consumes their bones (UNODC, 2020). Tiger skins are seen as a high end status symbol (BCA, 2020). The image below shows how active the tiger body part trade is throughout India, alone from WPSI.
Poaching can also cause other conflicts within the tiger community. If a female tiger is poached there is a good chance her cubs will also die for being too young to survive on their own (WWF, 2020). Since the female is removed, there is no chance she will be able to breed again so all of her future cubs are also lost (WWF, 2020). If a male is poached an intense competition can result over his territory to younger and/or newer males in the area, which could lead to serious injury or even death among the new males (WWF, 2020). Between 2000 and 2015 at least 1,755 tigers were seized and 758 skins were seized, in Asia (Traffic, 2016).
Tigers require large population numbers in order to remain stable, however, they are susceptible to modest increases in mortality that results in them being less likely to recover quickly after population declines (Chapron, et al., 2008). Incremental increase in poaching generally increases the probability of extinction (Kenny, et al., 1995). There is no evidence that poachers like to target a specific sex or age of tigers (Goodrich, et al., 2008). Poaching is the most pressing short-term threat to tigers, and the reduction of human-caused mortality is the most essential short-term conservation effort that must be made to continue having tigers in the wild (Chapron, et al., 2008). Anti-poaching efforts must be improved if we want to continue having tigers roam in the wild.
MyCat is a wonderful organization that works in partnership with other organizations to save the Malayan tigers. The Malayan tiger became its own subspecies in 2004 (MyCat The Plight of the Tiger, 2020). They offer a wonderful opportunity by inviting people to participate in their Cat Walks, where they hike through the Sungai Yu Ecological Corridor looking for tiger signs, deactivating snares, and walking to deter poachers while protecting 5,270km of critical habitat. Visit MyCat to learn more ways on how you can get involved and how you can participate in one of their cat walks.
To help the tiger population there has been a small scale tiger breeding center in South Africa since the 1990’s (UNODC, 2020). SaveChina’s Tiger organization has been developing an innovative big cat rewilding model to re-wild-zoo-bred tigers into the wild through reintroduction into their historic range in China (SCT The Project, 2020). The goal through rewilding is for the tigers to rediscover their hunting skills and enhance the biodiversity in their native historic habitat (SCT The Project, 2020). South Africa was chosen as the location to practice the rewilding techniques and training because of the size of the land available, the option for the organization to own the land rather than lease it, there is an abundance of wild prey species to give the tigers real hunting experience, and South Africa has a large resource of highly skilled wildlife managers and conservationists (SCT Biodiversity, 2020). TRAFFIC has created an innovative new campaign on Social and Behavioral Change Communications (SBCC) (Traffic CBC, 2020).
Simon Clinton, founder of Save Wild Tigers, states, “We have as little as a decade to double tiger numbers or risk extinction in the wild. The choice is ours- together we can save the tiger in the wild. The clock is ticking and ticking fast” (SWT, 2020). You can help tigers by not buying tiger products. Do not buy things made of tiger bones, claws, skins, or teeth. Do not eat tiger meat or drink tiger wine. Wild Aid’s famous line works for all animals, including tigers, because “When the buying stops, the killing can to” (WildAid, 2020).
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