NAME : ANURAG

PARMATMA MALLAH CLASS :

9
TOPIC : WHY TIGERS ARE
VITAL TO OUR ENVIRONMENT
Tigers are an umbrella species; they are one of
the most magnificent animals in the world. Tigers
are the apex predator in the cat family; it plays a
pivotal role in maintaining the food cycle in the
wild. They are also used to represent various
traditions and cultures in the past and present and
can be traced in historical records and found in
ancient coins, paintings, and carvings. However,
the magnificent animal is now announced as
endangered species. Wild tigers are so crucial to
the ecosystems that their extinction can adversely
affect the ecosystem and their habitat
Once, Tiger lived across Turkey, Iran, Tibet,
Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the islands of java and
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Bali. They are now found only in 13 countries; not
more than a century ago, around 100,000 tigers
were roaming around Asia, but now, with only
about 3,900 left, they were to, 3,900. We have lost
90% of their population in just one century. In
2010, Russia hosted a “tiger summit” 13 countries
came together to amend an agreement called the
St, Petersburg Declaration; they pledged to
encourage the conservation and to take necessary
actions to double the wild tiger population in the
coming years; they also decided to celebrate July
29 as Global Tiger Day. These 13 countries include
India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China,
Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal,
Russia, Thailand, and Vietnam; these are only tiger
ranged countries where tigers are found in their
original habitat.
Tigers are very important to the
ecosystem’s stability, and their extinction can
affect the entire ecosystem, creating an imbalance
in the environment and food chain. Tigers depend
on herbivores for survival, and preying on them
helps keep balance. It stops grasslands and forest

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vegetation from being overgrazed, which also
helps conserve natural resources like water and
air, and lets the other species, trees, and plants
thrive in the wild. The extinction of this big cat will
collapse the entire environment circle; unlike
lions, tigers are nature friendly; tigers have the
habit of leaving their remaining food for other
animals, whereas lions will save their food later in
nearby places – this help in creating a healthy
food cycle in the forest and let nature thrive.
Tigers also have the habit of marking their
territory which will help save the forests and for
the survival of other species living in the wild,
which, in turn, helps preserve the climate.
The most recent analysis that the
endangered species occupy only 7% of their
historical range. Even though tigers are depicted
as religious and cultural symbols, they are
poached for their skin and bones to prepare
medicines in China and India. Indonesia also has a
booming market for the body parts of tigers. The
increase in Human population, deforestation, and
urbanization are the other mounting threats to

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Tiger conservation. Understanding the effects of
environmental threats and identifying the main
risk to tigers and their prey is necessary for tiger
conservation.
One of the main reasons for the drastic
reduction in the tiger population is the
destruction of natural habitat which is essential
for their livelihood and survival. While a male tiger
covers 100sq km to form its territory, a female
tiger will cover 15-20sq km, but female tigers can
travel long distance to find a hideout to secure the
newborn cubs. Tigers confine their territory to
mate and reproduce and never allows another
tiger to enter their territory.
The growth of human population has
led to deforestation, which forces tigers to leave
their former territories in search of food and prey,
so they enter into human-occupied areas. To
survive, they attack animals or humans, whichever
comes across them. In relation humans
sometimes capture Tiger for sale in illegal trade
markets for its body parts, or it may be illegally
trafficked, and the tigers will be held captive in

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Tiger farms. Poaching is the biggest threat to Tiger
conservation. India is home to over 65% of the
tiger population in the world. India is becoming a
favourite spot of the tiger poachers; it has become
challenging to determine the numbers of illegally
killed and trafficked tigers; due to its demand in
neighbouring countries, these numbers are feared
to increase. In traditional Chinese medicines, tiger
penis soup is believed as an effective medicine
which can enhance male virility.
Tiger farms are captive facilities that
breed tigers for commercial sale or trade of tiger
parts. Most of the tiger farms are located in China
and Thailand. Tiger farms are facilities that breed
tigers for commercial purposes, particularly for
the sale and trade of tiger parts. Most of these
farms are located in China, Thailand, Lao PDR, and
Vietnam.
Unfortunately, the number of legal and illegal
captive facilities has increased over the years.
Currently, more than 8,000 tigers are estimated as
held captive in these farms, and the number tigers
living in the captivity is more than the number of
tigers living in the wild. The Convention on
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International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITIES) and its members banned
the captive breeding tigers and trading the captive
breaded tigers or their products in 2007. However
China continues the tiger farming operations. As
illegal trading and trafficking are increasing day
by day, Tiger conservation organizations should
come up with the best techniques to find the
outcome of the conservation efforts and the
extinction of species.
The development of a quantitative PCR assay is a
low-cost method that can be used in real-time to
identify the remains of an animal by enforcement
agencies worldwide to track and monitor the
illegal trade of Tiger remains.
Estimation of DNA helps identify the species, and
its degradation rate will help prioritize and
correlate with the data; it plays a vital role in
conservation planning.
The development of an appropriate sample
preservation technique that will better retain the
faecal DNA of a species will help to identify the
DNA and other Data, which will help in enabling
us to know the cause of endangerment of that
species, and it will help to prevent it from
occurring in the future.

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Developing and Conducting the survey at regular
intervals with effective parameters to assess the
tiger population and extinction or caught dead will
help identify the population’s number and track
the illegal trade and poaching.
SMART (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool)
is a data recording tool which helps in remote
sensing to collect the data to find environmental
crime and i. It is used to control poaching and
monitor illegal fishing; it is and is now part of
projects established to conserve wildlife in
different countries.
As each country establishes a unique program to
conserve nature and wild animals, India should
have launched a one-of-a-kind program to
conserve wildlife. On April 1, 1973, Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi launched a conservation
called Project Tiger. The program was launched in
India when the tiger population was rapidly
declining. It was launched and aimed to identify
and prevent tigers’ extinction by relocating them
to a suitable environment, which helps the species
thrive and curb any illegal activities. Various areas
are selected as conservation units to maintain and
increase the Tiger population. The program was
not launched only to maintain the tiger population
of tigers but also to prevent other wild species
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from disappearing and to create a better
ecosystem,.
After years of planning and taking necessary steps,
Nepal has increased its tiger population. The
survey conducted from November 2021 to March
2022 mapped deep forests, which has confirmed
there was an increase in the tiger population in
Nepal, which the country celebrates as an
achievement in conserving nature.
Creating awareness about these species among the
people who live nearby the forests and nearby
tigers’ habitats also helps conserve the magnificent
animal. Ground-level research and estimation
remain the best option for finding population
changes and evaluating conservation efforts’
results. Saving the Tiger needs team efforts and
the participation of the public. Protecting
endangered species and contributing to the benefit
of the environment are also essential for the
survival of wildlife and people; it helps control
climate change. This will be made possible by
protecting forest landscapes for tigers.