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Year of the Tiger Is the Tiger Out of the Woods by chris santiago categories Deforestation Wildlife Published February 12 2010 12 19PM PT 478 Views Finally in 2009 the whole world was worried about whether the Tiger could be saved from certain doom Unfortunately the Tiger most people were concerned about was the 34 year old golfer who seemed unable to resist the urge to make us giggle at the term top player Now it s 2010 and February 14th marks not just the celebration of hearts roses and chocolates but the Chinese New Year The Year of the Ox gives way to the Year of the Tiger Just how many wild tigers are left in the w

rld to welcome their own year Sadly not many In fact the World Wildlife Fund projects that the tiger could be extinct by the year 2022 or faster than you can say Siegfried amp Roy In China itself fewer than 50 big cats are thought to be in existence The usual suspects are to blame for the sharp population decline including poaching loss of habitat and climate change Although Asia is ground zero for the wild tiger population s struggle to survive the battle is burning bright right here in the U S Unbelievably the number of captive tigers in the U S in zoos and in private collections exceeds the number of tigers still living in the wild Worse still some fear that many of these cats can and have been bred to yield tiger products pelts bones etc which are traded illegally on the black market Black market tigers can go for as much as 80 000 according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare Want to help make sure this isn t the last Year of the Tiger Sign this WWF petition which urges the Department of the Interior to protect tigers from illegal trade in the U S And watch out for products that contain palm oil whose production fuels the destruction of tiger habitats in Indonesia and Malaysia The tiger s situation is dire but not irreversible But it s essential to act now to protect both captive and wild tiger populations Photo credit Michael Francis McCarthy