Poaching
Demand for tiger parts for the use in Asian medicine has been cited as a major threat to tiger populations. Every part of the tiger –from whiskers to its tail –is sought after in illegal wildlife black markets. The cost and effort to control and manage the guarding of areas where the tiger reside is extremely high, as they may live in areas too dense to spot poachers. Even countries with high enforcements on tiger protection fight a never-ending battle against poaching. It has impacted all subspecies of tigers in the world; being a major factor in the extinction of 3 of these subspecies. The tiger’s organs would be used as medicine in traditional Asian medicine, which believed that the traits of tigers such as strength and courage could be transferred to humans by consuming different parts of tigers. Figure 2.c on the right outlines the several parts of tigers used in traditional Chinese medicine and their supposed effects. Not only do these tiger parts have no scientific research to prove their uses, but 10 million people in the United States alone believe that these products actually work. The fur, bones and organs are all traded on illegal black markets at expensive prices due to the limited supply and illegitimacy of the trade. Tiger parts are in high demand, but with such a small population and the immense amount of effort finding one without being caught the supply of tigers is miniscule, causing the prices of these parts to increase dramatically. Each tiger, when every part of it is sold, is worth more than $50,000 U.S dollars. These high prices drive poachers to continue poaching tigers as a profitable source of income, and as a result every tiger subspecies today is threatened by illegal poaching.
Poaching of tigers' prey is also another contributing factor to the decline of tiger populations over the last century. The massive depletion of prey such as the Spotted Deer - a favourite of the tiger - means that food is harder to come by, resulting in starvation and forced killing of domestic livestock in nearby villagers in order to sustain themselves or a family. These interactions with local communities can cause conflicts. The high demand for leather and body parts of tigers' prey means that humans, who are undoubtedly the top of the food chain with a larger variety of weapons at their disposal than the tigers, are seen as competition for the tiger. Humans' hunting and tracking skills are far superior to tigers with modern technology, thus having an unfair advantage over the tigers, who find it difficult to compete with humans for prey.
Poaching of tigers' prey is also another contributing factor to the decline of tiger populations over the last century. The massive depletion of prey such as the Spotted Deer - a favourite of the tiger - means that food is harder to come by, resulting in starvation and forced killing of domestic livestock in nearby villagers in order to sustain themselves or a family. These interactions with local communities can cause conflicts. The high demand for leather and body parts of tigers' prey means that humans, who are undoubtedly the top of the food chain with a larger variety of weapons at their disposal than the tigers, are seen as competition for the tiger. Humans' hunting and tracking skills are far superior to tigers with modern technology, thus having an unfair advantage over the tigers, who find it difficult to compete with humans for prey.