INDEX

TOPIC PAGE NO.

INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE 1

ABOUT TIGERS 4

TIGER EXTINCTION 6

CAUSES 9

CONSERVATION 12

PROJECT TIGER 14

IMPORTANCE OF TIGER CONSERVATION 16

SNAPSHOTS 17

REFERENCES 18

INTRODUCTION TO

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Environmental scienceis the interdisciplinaryacademic

fieldwhich systematically studieshuman interactionwith

theenvironmentin the interests of solving complex problems. It

is a broad field of study that includes also the natural

environment,built environment, and the sets of relationships

between them. The field encompasses study in basic principles

of ecology and environmental science, as well as associated

subjects such asethics,policy,politics,law,

economics,philosophy,environmental

sociologyandenvironmental justice,planning,pollution

controland natural resource management.

Why study environmental science ?

You live here. There's only one planet so far that can support

human life.

You need to know how to protect your environment.

You need to know what has already been done to harm the

environment so that you can work to repair the damage.

We humans are currently undergoing a population explosion,

numbering over 6.5 billion people and growing. Most scientists

are convinced that this is an unsustainable population size and that

we must reduce our growth rate. While many developed countries

have reduced their population growth rates, most developing

countries have high birth rates.

The prodigious increase in the human population has had and is

still having devastating effects on the environment. This is

especially true of non-renewable resources, such as fossil fuels,

and the output of excessive carbon dioxide and other greenhouse

gases as a consequence.

The study of Environmental Science promotes the development of

problem-solving skills. Working in the field of environmental

science provides a wide variety of subjects and problems to

challenge and expand your skills, as well as the satisfaction of

knowing you are helping to improve the quality of our lives and

that of the planet.

Why Is Environmental Education Important?

Our nation’s future relies on a well-educated public to be

wise stewards of the very environment that sustains us, our

families and communities, and future generations. It is

environmental education which can best help us as individuals

make the complex, conceptual connections between economic

prosperity, benefits to society, environmental health, and our

own well being. Ultimately, the collective wisdom of our

citizens, gained through education, will be the most compelling

and most successful strategy for environmental management.

Yet studies consistently reveal that the public suffers from

a tremendous environmental literacy gap that appears to be

increasing rather than decreasing. For example, two-thirds of the

public fail even a basic environmental quiz and a whopping 88

percent of the public fail a basic energy quiz. These same studies

found that many people think the ocean is a source of fresh

water and some believe that hydropower is world's top energy

source.Environmental education also increases student

engagement in science.

ABOUT TIGERS

The tiger is the largest member of the cat species. Tigers

have muscular bodies with particularly powerful forelimbs and

large heads.Its most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark

vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with a lighter underside.

This gives it a royal look. The pattern of stripes is unique to each

animal, and these unique markings can be used by researchers to

identify individuals (both in the wild and captivity), in much the

same way as fingerprints are used to identify humans. Tigers

have exceptionally stout teeth, and the canines are the longest

among living felids with a crown height of as much as 74.5 mm

(2.93 in) or even 90 mm (3.5 in).Tigers are among the most

recognizable and popular of the world's charismatic megafauna.

Tigers are native to much of Asia, from some of the coldest

regions to the steamy rainforests of the Indonesian Islands. They

are the top predator in every ecosystem they inhabit.Tigers

ranged widely across Asia, from Turkey in the west to the

eastern coast of Russia. The Bengal tiger is the national animal

of both India and Bangladesh.

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Mammalia

Order Carnivora

Family Felidae

Genus Panthera

Species Tigris

Binomial name Pantheratigris

SUBSPECIES

There are 9 subspecies of tiger:

PantheraTigrisTigris (Bengal or Indian tiger)

PantheraTigriscorbetti (Indochinese tiger)

PantheraTigrisjacksoni (Malayan Tiger)

PantheraTigrissumatrae (Sumatran tiger)

PantheraTigrisaltaica (Siberian tiger)

PantheraTigrisamoyensis (South China tigers)

Panthera Tigrisvirgate (Caspian tigers)

PantheraTigrisbalica (Balinese tiger)

PantheraTigrissondaica (Javan tiger)

The last three subspecies are extinct. The remaining six tiger

subspecies have been classified as endangered by IUCN.

TIGER EXTINCTION

Until the 20th Century there were nine tiger subspecies that

probably numbered over 100,000 animals. They included the

giant 660-poundSiberian tigers, the relatively small 200-pound

Balinese tiger, the royal Bengal tiger, Indochinese tiger, South

China tigers, Sumatran tiger, Javan tiger,Caspian tigers and the

Malayan Tiger.

Three of the tiger species,

Caspian tigers, Balinese tiger and

Javan tigers are definitely extinct and

depending on whether there are any

remaining South China tigers

(nobody has seen one in years) there

are either 5 or 6 tiger subspecies

remaining in existence, all of which

endangered. All the tiger subspecies

put together currently amount to

around 3,200 endangered tigers

remaining in the wild.

The main reasons tigers are endangered and in most cases,

critically endangeredare illegal hunting for their pelts, meat and

body parts (used in folk medicines) as well as habitat loss that

results from logging and other forms of forest destruction.

Fewer than 500 endangered Siberian tigers remain in the

wild and all of them are restricted to a small area of coastal Far-

Eastern Russia. Although the population has appeared stable

until recently, these tigers are threatened by poaching, habitat

loss due to logging, road-building and development, as well as

by the problem of inbreeding that has resulted from the fact that,

before conservation measures were implemented in the 1930′s,

the entire population had collapsed to around 40 individuals.

The Bengal tiger is the most numerous of the endangered

tiger subspecies, with probably fewer than 2,000 remaining at

large in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan.There are fewer

than 500 each of the endangered Malayan tiger native to the

Malay Peninsula and Sumatran tiger which is found only on the

Indonesian Island of Sumatra.The Indochinese tiger of Vietnam,

Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) probably

numbers fewer than 500.None of the critically endangered South

China tigerhas been sighted for a number of yearsand it is feared

that the species may be extinct.Along with the Balinese tiger,

formerly found on the Indonesian Island of Bali and known to

be extinct since the 1930′s, the Javan tiger, another Indonesian

Island species, was also hunted to extinction, with the last one

spotted in 1979.The Caspian tiger, a huge, cold-climate species

similar to the Siberian tiger, which once roamed the vast

mountains of western Asia, has been extinct since the

1950′s.Populations of all endangered tiger species continue to

decline.

CAUSES

Illegal Hunting for Medicinal Trade

Poaching for tiger skins has a long history; the magnificent

striped pelt has been in demand for rugs, wall hangings, and fur

coats. These are less important now as the market is restricted

by trade bans. The poacher's targets today are bones and other

parts to meet the demand for pseudo-medicinal use in eastern

Asia, primarily China, Taiwan, and South Korea, but also in

Indo-China.

China's Growing Demand

It can be assumed that within 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. In the late 1980s reports

emerged from Nepal and India of poaching for bones and

smuggling to China. The statistics show that over six tons of

tiger bones were imported between 1975 and 1992, which could

represent the equivalent of 500 to 1,000 tigers (using dry bone

weights of 10-12kg per tiger). There was a marked increase in

imports in 1988, boosting the annual average through 1992 to

577kg (52-96 tigers a year).

Weak 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, 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 imposition of the ban.

New evidence shows that tigers are being breed in China now to

quench the Chinese market for tiger parts.

Poaching and Habitat Loss

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. Where forest guards regularly patrol,

they may note that a familiar tiger is no longer to be seen, but it

may be difficult to decide whether it was poached or died

naturally. In many forests there are too few guards, if any.The

impact of poaching isn’t just limited to the loss of the actual

animal killed. If it is a female, she is likely to have cubs, which

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.

Like other big cats, the tiger probably has little future outside

protected areas because of the danger to livestock and human

life. Tigers which stray out of reserves and attack livestock are

often poisoned by local people.

The Genetic Threat

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 matinghas 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.

Impact of Catastrophes

Small isolated populations are especially vulnerable to

catastrophic events and natural disasters, such as forest fires,

floods, hurricanes, and epidemicsand human-induced events,

such as deforestation and conversion of habitat. Extensive fires

in the forests of northeastern China in 1987 may have killed

Siberian tigersand reduced prey numbers. Monsoon floods and

hurricanes regularly kill some tigers in the Indian subcontinent.

An epidemic could wipe out a small tiger population, especially

if inbreeding has reduced genetic variability and, therefore,

resistance to the spread of disease.

CONSERVATION

The conservation on international Trade in Endangered Species

(CITES) has played a crucial role in improving international

efforts for tiger conservation. CITES is an international

governance network employing tools and measures which adapt

and become more efficient with time.

Create awareness

Tiger is in danger and only excessive awareness programs can

save the species. Everybody can help if they did their part. You

could help as well, all you have to do is make posters or fliers

illustrating about the significance of tigers on the planet earth.

Educating the people

The people who do the most harm to the forests are those living

nearby them. They need to be educated about the significance of

tigers to if they wish to see the Ecosystem balanced. If there will

be no tigers then we will not find any grass on our planet

because there will be nobody to stop the grass eating animals

from eating all the grass.

Discourage poaching:

Hunting of tigers is banned because selling tiger skin or any

other body parts is the biggest reason why indian tigers are

going extinct. If you know somebody who is involved in indian

tiger hunting then it is your duty to report the officials.

Support a cause

If you see a program running to save the indian tiger, you should

take part in it and support their cause. You could also start your

own blog on how to save the indian tiger, it will really educate

the people.

Take an eco tour

If you really want to save the indian tigers then an eco tour is

must for you. Eco tour really helps the people in understanding

the significance of tigers.

These are some of the simplest ways you can adopt to save the

Indian tiger from becoming extinct.

PROJECT TIGER

In 1972 Project Tiger was initiated to bring

certain tiger conservation plans into action.

The main aim behind Project Tiger was to

protect the Bengal Tigers living in several

regions of India. To achieve the mission of

tiger conservation they set up several tiger

reserves. The tiger reserves had the

responsibility of maintaining natural environment of the

regions where tigers dwelled the most.

For several years The Tiger Reserves representatives covered

the area of nearly 37,761 km² and were able to bring the

population of tigers from 1,200 in 1970s to 3500 in 1990s.

However, when the Government of India did a survey in 2008

the tiger population was estimated to be only 1,411. This was

announced as a major setback, to rectify the loopholes in the

activities of Project Tiger regarding their overall tiger

conservation activities the Government requested for a donation

of US$153 million.

Some of the areas where the fund will be used extensively to

further strengthen tiger conservation activities include:

A high tech information network is needed by the wildlife

protection and crime risk management team of Project Tiger to

deliver maximum protection to the fields where tigers live. The

huge portion of the fund will be allocated to develop several

technologies which would help the representatives to gather,

maintain and make proper use of the data and also to watch over

the tiger conservation areas through Mapping and GIS

modeling.

The activities of some of the units such as Sunderbans Tiger

Conservation Unit, Central Indian Tiger Conservation Unit and

Western Ghat Tiger Conservation Unit will be strictly monitored

as these are the areas where tiger population has reduced

rapidly. A satellite data will be set which will keep an eye on the

tiger habitats.

Further activities for tiger conservation will include education

the villagers on tiger conservation so they also help in saving the

almost extinct species.

The Project Tiger is hopeful that with proper use of the fund and

more international help they will be able to save the tigers in the

coming years.

IMPORTANCE OF TIGER

CONSERVATION

Tigers are the top predator in the food chain that keeps the eco-

system going in tropical jungles. When they vanish due to

poaching and lack of habitat, they take away with them an

important link in the food chain. Tigers help keep the population

of herbivores in the jungle. Nature is finely balanced with the

right proportion of predators for prey. By taking away one

important predator, prey will increase at the cost of habitat

which finally impacts mankind

By conserving and saving tigers the entire wilderness ecosystem

is conserved. In nature, barring human beings and their

domesticates, rest of the ecosystem is wild. Hence conserving

wilderness is important and crucial to maintain the life support

system. So saving tiger amounts to saving the ecosystem which

is crucial for man's own survival.

Tigers play a pivotal role in the health of the ecosystem. Tigers

constitute the top carnivores in the ecosystem and are placed at

the apex of the food chain. The removal of a top carnivore from

an ecosystem can have an impact on the relative abundance of

herbivore species. Along with other major carnivores as leopard

it acts as a control mechanism for herbivores or consumers.

Top carnivores, tigers, have an important role to play in the

structuring of communities and ultimately of ecosystems. Thus,

the preservation of tigers becomes an important consideration.

SNAPSHOTS

REFERENCES

www.wikipedia.in/tiger

Dickson, B. (2002). International conservation treaties,

poverty and development: The case of CITES. ODI Natural

Resource Perspectives, January 1974

Tigers of the World Ronald L. Tilson.

Threat to The Tiger by John Vaillant

The Way of the Tiger by Orient Longman