Threats to Tiger Survival

Poaching and the Demand for Body Parts
Hunting for tiger skins has a long history; the magnificent striped pelt has been in demand for rugs, wall hangings, and fur coats. But in the late 1980s, bones and other parts became the principal targets to meet the demand for medicinal use in eastern Asia, primarily China, Taiwan, and South Korea, but also in Southeast Asia. The extent of this demand has yet to be determined because very few data exist beyond the evidence of tiger products in pharmacies and markets throughout the region. Assessing the impact of poaching is difficult. Unlike carcasses of elephants and rhinos, the remains of tigers quickly disappear, particularly when the skeleton has been taken. Skins are easily identified, but few people can distinguish tiger bones from those of domestic animals which are used for fertilizer and glue. Chinese authorities have disclosed that, in 1991, exports of tiger bone medicines included 15,079 cartons of tablets, 5,250 kg of liquid medicines, and 31,500 bottles of wine. Most of the exports are believed to have gone to Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, but tiger-based medicines have been found in many parts of the world where there are Chinese communities, including Australasia, Europe, and the USA. China’s Demand IWithin China itself the killing of at least 3,000 tigers as pests in the 1950s and 1960s provided large stocks of bones for medicine factories. Supplies were also likely to have been obtained from poaching of tigers in neighbouring countries, such as Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam, where protection was non-existent. Only in the late 1980s did reports emerge from Nepal and India of poaching for bones which were being smuggled to China, an indication that stocks were probably running low in that country and that tigers were becoming more difficult to find in Southeast Asia. The best data on the tiger bone trade comes from South Korea, where imports were legal and recorded by customs up to 1993. The statistics show that over six tons of tiger bone were imported between 1975 and 1992). There was a marked increase in imports in 1988. Nearly two-thirds of the imports to South Korea were from Indonesia, with China second at 14 per cent, probably re-exports. Other listed suppliers were Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Singapore, and Taiwan. The impact of poaching is not limited to the loss of the actual animal killed. If it is a female, she is likely to have cubs, who may be unable to fend for themselves, in which case the real loss may be three or four tigers, without counting the loss of the tigress’s breeding potential. When a male is killed, the result may be an intensive struggle among other males to take over the territory, during which cubs get killed and breeding is disrupted for a lengthy period, possibly for several years.

Habitat Loss
Across all of Asia, once vast forests have been cut down for timber or conversion to agriculture. Only small islands of forest surrounded by a growing and relatively poor human population are left. As forest space is reduced, the number of animals left in the forest is also reduced, and tigers cannot find the prey they need to survive. As a result, tigers begin to eat the livestock of villagers who live near them. Sometimes tigers even attack humans. People sometimes kill the tigers in order to protect themselves and their livestock. The current range of the tiger extends through one of the most densely inhabited regions of the world. Except for Thailand and China (where there are fewer than 35 tigers), human populations are increasing much faster than the average global rate. During the 25 years since Project Tiger began in 1973, India's human population has increased by over 300 million, and livestock by over 100 million. In the past 30 years, Vietnam's population has doubled, making it one of the world's most densely populated countries. It is second to another tiger range state, Bangladesh, in terms of farming population per hectare of cultivated land. The human pressure on wild habitat, including protected areas, is clearly intense and increasing. As human populations grow the populations of tigers shrinks and becomes isolated. Small isolated populations are especially vulnerable to catastrophic events: natural disasters, such as forest fires, floods, hurricanes, and epidemics; and human-induced events, such as deforestation, and destruction of habitat. Extensive fires in the forests of northeastern China in 1987 may have led to the deaths of Siberian tigers, and reduced prey numbers. Monsoon floods and hurricanes regularly kill some tigers in the Indian subcontinent. In Africa, an outbreak of canine distemper, which killed many hundreds of lions in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park in 1994/95, is unlikely to have damaged the total population of 3,000. But a similar epidemic in India or elsewhere in Asia could wipe out a small tiger population, especially if inbreeding has reduced genetic variability and, therefore, resistance to the spread of disease. As human populations move farther into the forest, groups of tigers become separated from each other by villages and farms. This means that tigers in one area can no longer mate with tigers in nearby areas. Instead, tigers must breed repeatedly with the same small group of animals. Over time, this inbreeding weakens the gene pool, and tigers are born with birth defects and mutations. Most tiger populations today consist of fewer than 100 individuals and only about 40 per cent of them constitute the breeding population. Inbreeding is inevitable and father-daughter and mother-son matings have been recorded. The balance of the sexes may be distorted by an excess of males or females surviving to maturity, thus increasing the impact of inbreeding. A loss of variability and genetic deterioration follow, with lowered cub production and survival, which may not be apparent until they have reached a level that threatens the population.

Problems with Law Enforcement
Taiwan prohibited tiger bone imports in 1985 and internal sale and possession in 1989. However, tiger products continued to be openly available. Under mounting international pressure, especially from the USA and CITES, China (1993), Taiwan (1994), and South Korea (1994) have all announced bans on trade in tiger bones, and their use in traditional medicines. However, undercover investigators reported that they had obtained tiger products in various places in China after the ban was imposed. How effective bans will be in curbing demand remains to be seen. The belief in the efficacy of medicines based on the tiger is ages old and cannot be expected to disappear in the short term. Evidence has been collected that tiger-based medicines are still widely available despite the announced bans, and the illegal trade is likely to continue for a long time to come. That will mean that tigers everywhere will remain under serious threat unless effective steps are taken to suppress the trade and find effective substitutes. Some practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine have endorsed the use of substitutes and some have expressed interest in collaborative research on substitutes for medicines from endangered species including the tiger. A problem for law enforcement authorities has been the need to carry out expensive tests to prove that medicines actually contain tiger or other forbidden animal products. Now, it has become an offense just to claim that the medicines or other products contain tiger or rhino parts in several countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Netherlands.