International Tiger Day by Marsel van Oosten

International Tiger Day by Marsel van Oosten

Today is International Tiger Day, an annual celebration to raise awareness for tiger conservation. The goal of the day is to promote a global system for protecting the natural habitats of tigers and to raise public awareness and support for tiger conservation issues. This is important because it is necessary. Since the early 20th century, tiger populations have lost at least 93% of their historic range. The tiger is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List, as only some 3,000 tigers remain in the wild, with most remaining populations occurring in small pockets isolated from each other. More tigers currently live in captivity in Texas than in the wild. Major reasons for population decline include habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation, and poaching. This, coupled with the fact that it lives in some of the more densely populated places on earth, has caused significant conflicts with humans.
Many people in China and other parts of Asia have a belief that various tiger parts have medicinal properties, including pain killers and aphrodisiacs. This is complete nonsense. There is no scientific evidence to support these beliefs. The trading of tiger parts in Asia has become a major black-market industry and governmental and conservation attempts to stop it have been ineffective to date. We need to keep the pressure on. We cannot let greed and superstition wipe out the wild tiger. If you want to make a difference, you can donate to panthera.org Marsel | squiver.com

Marsel van Oosten: Photos