BluJeans' Tiger Collection

The world's tiger population - 100,000 a century ago but down to fewer than 6,000 today is dwindling fast. There used to be eight subspecies; now there are five: Indian (Bengal), Sumatran, Chinese, IndoChinese and Amur (Siberian). The three extinct subspecies are: Bali, Javan, and Caspian. They became extinct over the last 70 years. All are endangered because their bones and private parts - not their fur, as in the '70s - bring big bucks on the black market for use in East Asian medicines and in elixirs thought to heighten virility. They are vulnerable to poaching, habitat loss and competition with local populations for food, as well. In other words, the main reasons tigers are disappearing are the loss of tiger habitat, loss of prey species and continued poaching.

What to do? John Seidensticker of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., suggests:

Visit a zoo to learn more about tigers.

Visit the Tiger Information Center at www.5tigers.org.

Visit Asia to see tigers in the wild (tourist dollars add value to living tigers).

Support the Save the Tiger Fund ( visit them at www.nfwf.org/gdlintig.htm or call 1-800-5-TIGERS for information).

Also, I would like to add that you:

Get involved and join in IEFS's (International Exotic Feline Sanctuary...formerly known as the Texas Exotic Feline Foundation or TEFF) efforts to house and care for unwanted exotic and endangered felines (ie. abandoned exotic pets, maimed circus felines, old zoo felines, etc.). You can visit their site for more information at www.teff.org . They have an Adopt-a-Feline program which enables members to support an individual feline of their choice. Check them out!! I applaud them (having visited them in person) for the wonderful job that they are doing!

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These pages last updated 2/13/00