When I was a young cat I wanted to be a tiger. I wanted to be the biggest, stripeyest, snarlingest tiger in the world.
In a few years time I can probably wrap myself in a black and yellow coat in faux fur and be the only tiger in the world.
There are fewer than 5,000 tigers left!
The way the slaughter continues, all of them could be gone by 2012.
In a cruel twist of fate, the Siberian tigers who are down to 500 in numbers, are more likely to survive.
Though their northern climate is far harsher than those of other tigers, these big cats have some advantages. Northern forests offer the lowest human density of any tiger habitat, and the most complete ecosystem.
What’s happening to the rest of the tigers? Are there still some overgrown boys running round dressed up as Big Game Hunters? Or ignorant people who like to wrap themselves in the pelts of other species?
Mostly tigers are murdered, chopped up and sold in bits. There are people who believe that tiger teeth, claws and whiskers are a sort of organic viagra for old men. How gross is that?
It’s heartbreaking.
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