a tiger journal

Click for Tigers in Crisis

The journey of the tiger began over 2 million years ago in Asia.

Over two million years, or more than 700 million days and nights of roaming the forest, hunting food, mating and rearing their young, and perhaps just being attentive to their surroundings. Two million years of living on the earth as the sun rose and the sun set, day in and day out.

It’s tragic then, that in the last 50-60 years, this journey has already come to an end for three subspecies of tigers. The Caspian, the Bali, and the Javan tiger have all ceased roaming the planet that gave them life.

And now, the journey is quickly winding down for the remaining five subspecies of tigers that still remain. And it is winding down especially fast for the South China tiger.

It is estimated that only about 60-80 South China tigers still exist on the planet.

Imagine, only 60-80 South China tigers are all that remain on the face of the earth. And that is an ‘optimistic’ estimate.

It is known that approximately 50 South China tigers live in zoos in China. But it is only a guess that perhaps twenty to thirty might still remain in the wild. It is only a guess because the last time a South China tiger was seen in the wild was over 10 years ago.

Imagine, only 60-80 South China tigers left on the Earth. This, when 40 years ago it was estimated that 4,000 of these animals still roamed the planet. They hunted and mated, they reared their young, and they were blivious to the fact that humanity was quickly pushing them to the edge of extinction.

The South China tiger is living a life that exists somewhere between the three subspecies of tigers that have already been forced into extinction, and the other four subspecies that are sliding towards the edge.

And even though they are all in danger of becoming extinct, the other subspecies are faring better than the South China tiger.

It is thought between 500-800 Sumatran tigers still exist on the Indonesian island of Sumatra; approximately 1,500 Indochinese tigers are scattered in and around Thailand; an estimated 4,000 Bengal tigers still live in the wilds of India; and close to 500 Siberian tigers are said to still roam the wilds of Russia and China.

It is hoped, that with enough effort, these subspecies of tigers can be kept from the finality of extinction.

But for the South China tiger, there is little hope. Its fate is close to being sealed…if it is not sealed already.

Experts say there may be just to few animals in captivity to provide a good gene pool to breed it back to sustainable numbers. And it is apparent there are not enough of these tigers in the wild to assist in this task.

So it seems the days and nights of the South China tiger may soon be coming to an end.

The focus of this journal is about tigers. It will be about what has happened to them; what is happening to them; and what will happen to them. And why.

It is a story that is unfolding each and every day.

And even for the South China tiger, the story is still unfolding and the end has not been written.

And that’s where this writing begins.