{"id":434,"date":"2025-06-12T18:59:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T18:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kiwaniscluboflombard.org\/?p=434"},"modified":"2025-06-16T12:04:56","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T12:04:56","slug":"how-to-responsibly-see-tigers-in-the-wild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.kiwaniscluboflombard.org\/index.php\/2025\/06\/12\/how-to-responsibly-see-tigers-in-the-wild\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Responsibly See Tigers in the Wild"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the largest member of the cat family, tigers<\/a> are compellingly powerful and stealthy. It\u2019s no wonder they\u2019ve been one of nature\u2019s most feared predators for roughly two million years!<\/span><\/p>\n

But in just the past 150 years, the tiger\u2019s range has shrunk by nearly 95%. The population in the wild is now only around 4,500 tigers. Find out how conservationists aim to increase that number through protection efforts fueled in part by ecotourism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Tigers: Facing Extinction<\/h2>\n

Tigers are native to Asia, but their range today is much smaller than in the past. It doesn\u2019t help that they inhabit many places with huge human populations that are growing exponentially. Their range includes Southeast Asia, India (roughly 3,000 of the world\u2019s wild tigers are found in India<\/a>), western China and some parts of Russia, with small breeding populations in Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Russia and Nepal. <\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a persistent myth that wild tigers can be found in Africa, but that\u2019s not based on scientific fact. Tigers, lions, leopards and jaguars are all part of the Felidae family of cats, which did originate in Africa a couple of million years ago. But since then, an offshoot of Felidae migrated east into Asia, where those cats evolved into the orange-, black- and white-striped tigers we know and love today. <\/span><\/p>\n

Once they established populations throughout Asia, tigers never returned to Africa. They can only be found there in zoos, special reserves and private residences, where they are sometimes unfortunately kept as pets.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Bengal<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Conan Dumenil<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Sadly, three subspecies of tiger are already extinct: the Bali tiger (<\/span>Panthera tigris<\/span><\/i> balica), the Caspian tiger (<\/span>Panthera tigris<\/span><\/i> virgata) and the Javan tiger (<\/span>Panthera tigris<\/span><\/i> sondaica). One species, the South China tiger (<\/span>Panthera tigris <\/span><\/i>amoyensis), is thought to survive only in captivity. <\/span><\/p>\n

The other five species of tigers (Sumatran, Amur\/Siberian, Bengal, Indochinese and Malayan tigers) are endangered. Some of the biggest threats to their survival include illegal poaching, loss of habitat due to agriculture and urbanization, and reduction in prey availability. The use of their body parts for amulets and traditional \u2018medicine\u2019 drives the poaching trade, as well as the astronomical price their gorgeous pelts fetch on the black market.<\/span><\/p>\n