Despite the tiger's critical endangerment (or ironically, perhaps because of it), the demand for tiger parts at the end of the 20th Century has escalated with frightening speed. Unscrupulously killed to supply the lucrative black market for skins, organs and bones that are claimed by eastern medicine to heal all manner of human ills, the tiger has paradoxically fallen victim to its own mythological symbolism. Also killed for sport and prestige, superstition and ignorance, or unfounded fear, tigers are under attack virtually everywhere they live. The images on this page are graphic evidence of human cruelty and indifference.

Since it is illegal all over the world to kill a wild tiger, trade records are difficult to obtain. Yet, it is clear that the import and export of tiger parts is a substantial business. For example, it is estimated that in 1990 alone at least 1,900 kg of tiger bone were exported from Taiwan to Japan; equivalent to approximately 200 tigers. Between 1970 and 1993, official Korean government records detail that approximately 3,994 kilograms (8787 pounds) of tiger bones were imported into South Korea from Indonesia. Other parts of the tiger are also valuable in the Asian traditional pharmacopoeia. In certain parts of Asia, a bowl of tiger penis soup (a reputed aphrodisiac), has been known to sell for hundreds of dollars, and a pair of eyes (ostensibly to fight epilepsy and malaria) for almost as much. Powdered tiger humerus bone (for treating ulcers, rheumatism and typhoid) fetches up to $3500 a kilo in the black markets of cities such as Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul and Tokyo. It is important to note that virtually all of the effects of these 'treatments' are scientifically unproven - providing alleged benefits. The perceived benefits of tiger bone reached an unprecedented zenith in 1987, when the Chinese National Pharmaceutical Bureau actually proposed a tiger breeding ('farming') facility near Beijing. This facility was to "solve the problem of the shortage of tiger bone". The farm was built, but closed a few years later under strong international pressure.

Unfortunately, the consumption of tiger parts for medicinal purposes is not restricted to Asia. Only a few years ago, a study in the UK of Chinese chemists, craft shops and supermarkets in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool showed that half the shops sold products professing to contain tiger bone. Once again, this 'demand' provides an irresistible temptation to poachers, virtually all of whom come from impoverished backgrounds. In order for environmentalists to succeed in preventing the extinction of the wild tiger, they must first understand the incentives facing those who control the tiger's fate, and find solutions that change those incentives into ones that promote tiger conservation.

The tiger is universally accepted as one of nature's most indelible symbols of power, beauty and grace - a near-mystical icon. Yet tigers are facing an epic crisis across the forests of Asia, including the National Parks where they are supposed to be "protected." With three subspecies having disappeared from the face of the earth in the last century (the Bali in the 1930's, Caspian in the 1970s, and Javan in the 1980's), tiger numbers and habitat range have decreased on an ecological scale not seen since the extinction of the dinosaurs. Current population estimates for the remaining subspecies are as follows:

South China Tiger: Approximately 50 individuals are left in the wild. (China)

Siberian (Amur) Tiger: Approximately 150 to 200 individuals are left in the wild. (Russia and China)

Indo-Chinese Tiger: It is estimated that about 900 to 1200 individuals are left in the wild. (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Myanmar)

Sumatran Tiger: Approximately 400 to 500 individuals are left in the wild. (Indonesia)

Bengal Tiger: It is estimated that between 2700 and 4300 individuals remain in the wild. (India, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar)

Clearly, if we do not act soon, wild tigers will become extinct within a generation. With a simple action, you can make a valuable contribution, however big or small, that will directly help stop the killing of tigers. Please support The Tiger Foundation's urgently needed anti-poaching programs.

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