Why Saving the Wild Tiger and It’s Natural Habitat Could Save the World By Samantha M. Debates about “fairness” are held on a daily basis among members of our society. Is it fair that some individuals have to fight for their place in the world, while others are rewarded for conscious irresponsibility? This exact argument about inequality in our social pyramid can be used to evaluate the importance of each subdivision of life that inhabits the earth. Why is it acceptable that tens of thousands of species are on the brink of complete extinction and yet only one group of organisms holds the unanimous vote to determine which species are “valuable” enough to earn cohabitation rights, while other organisms are carelessly left unaided and consequently invited to perish? Large carnivores, specifically tigers, represent an example of a species that has been severely affected by anthropologic activity for over a century and if left unprotected, will cease to exist. Tiger habitat preservation and population restoration is a highly debated topic in the conservation world because of the amount of habitat required to promote true species recovery, the humanitarian commitment associated with the rehabilitation of the population and the ecological adaptations to maintain the species livelihood. Research by Mondol, Karanth and Ramakrishnan revealed that “current wild tiger populations range from 3,000- 3,500 individuals worldwide… only 8-25% of the tigers natural wild habitat remains globally…and the Indian subcontinent has lost about 90% of its tigers” (1, 2). These individual animal numbers have reached record lows and one of the first basic needs that must be restored to replenish the tiger species is a suitable habitat. “Historically these fi... ... middle of paper ... ...uction of these tigers into the wild would meet a devastating end because of diminished hunting skills as well as the disastrous genetic mutations (2,3). Life on earth, for all living things, is dependent on a balance of intricate cycles that foster our present day survival. As anthropologic activities increase on this fragile planet, it becomes increasingly difficult for nature to self regulate a natural rhythm when humans mistakenly place themselves at the top of the ecological pyramid. The more natural land that we preserve increases the number of organisms we invite to thrive and diversify our planet. Biodiversity is essential to all animals, including humans, and by repairing some of the imbalances that we have inflicted on the earth through land conservation and rehabilitation of endangered species such as the wild tiger, we are in essence saving ourselves.
“The riskiest thing you can do is get greedy.” That is exactly what the protagonist, Balram Halwai, does in order to become successful. Being a loyal worker to anyone around him, Balram realizes soon after that there is more in the world than working for someone. He can be his own boss and he likes that idea more. Greed and the temptation of more takes over his mind and morphs him into a different character. In the novel, The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, Balram begins by having a sense of self and respect for others, but after realizing that higher success is also achievable it changes him into a darker character with no moralities what so ever, depicting how greed of success can take a man of the right path.
For years tigers have been a symbol of grace, power, and majesty (“Tigers Threatened,” 2006), exhibiting mesmerizing beauty and limitless strength that has been recognized throughout the world. Because of this, tigers are highly valued, as their body parts are prized and worth an enormous fortune, consequently resulting in 3 of the 8 subspecies of tigers into extinction (“Tigers Threatened,” 2006). The remaining five tiger species went from hundreds of thousands, to only 3,000 – 5,000 combined, and one subspecies has been targeted tremendously for their prestigious status. In particular, Amur commonly referred to as the Siberian tiger, now face a great deal of danger, as poaching increases and destruction of their homes persist, leaving Amur on the brink of extinction as well. With approximately 500 left in the wild (Sartore, 2014, p. 1), the imperiled mammals status signifies severe endangerment, where recognition and assistance are in desperate need to put an end to prohibited hunting, and mindless deforestation. The following paper will incorporate aspects of both hunting and destruction of the ecosystem, as they are the two driving forces causing rapid tiger demise.
Tigers are the largest members of the cat family. They live in Asia and belong to the same genus as the lion, leopard, and jaguar. Two major subspecies of the tiger are the Siberian tiger and the Bengal tiger. The tiger is thought to have originated in northern Asia during the Pleistocene Epoch.
Animal threatening to extinction is not a myth, is real and is happening. As the world becomes more interconnected and globalized, trading and economic issues has been the most important agenda to most countries, where animals and the environment has been ignored, and whatever benefits us even if harming the latter is not considered wrong. In my opinion, despite knowing the impact to us human beings behind animal extinction, we should not let animals that have lived for millions of years to go extinct solely because of us and our selfishness. We have to start thinking about the earth as a whole where we share with all the animals, and not human beings as the dominant group.
Over the past two centuries, the human population has become increasingly prosperous; nourishment has improved, the economy has developed and longevity has increased. From this, it is possible to conclude that man’s battle with nature is proving beneficial. However, the wellbeing and success of mankind greatly relies on ‘ecosystem services’, which comprise any benefits provided by ecosystems that contribute towards human life. These developments in wellbeing have partly been achievable because of the increased exploitation of these ecosystem services.
The 1992 Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) conceded that the eminent adversity threatening biological and resource diversity is a global calamity. Pertaining to biodiversity alone, studies have revealed that about 1.4 million of all known species (comprising of 26.96% of flora and 73.04% of fauna) are in existence globally (WCMC, 1992; Bhargava, 2006). Despite the rich biological diversities, there are manifestations that, these global diversities are constantly disappearing at quite an alarming proportion. Biodiversity levels are projected to be deteriorating across the globe with about 25% of all mammals threatened by extinction in the next three (3) decades (Yelfaanibe, 2011). Some scholars have advanced reasons responsible for the failure
are at a very high risk of extinction. There are over 3000 endangered species around the world due to many factors including over-fishing, hunting, destruction of habitat, climate change and a decrease in food supply. As the number of endangered species are increasing quickly it is very important that action is taken to preserve them for a number of reasons. If endangered species are not preserved it could easily lead to the species becoming extinct which could upset the food chain and lead to further extinction of other species. This could have not only negative effects on there predators but would eventually lead to having negative effects on species further up the food chain including the human species. Over the years researches have come to discover and find that all species play an important part in looking after our ecosystem and extinction could cause a big hole in the system.
Through millions of years of evolution, well-balanced habitats have co-evolved to provide for the wide variety of species and their needs. Trees have adapted to weeds, weeds have adapted to the predation from herbivores, and so on up the food chain. Similar scenarios are seen throughout the world. Through the process of natural selection, specific species or broad species families will go extinct. However, these occurrences have largely been due to the natural flow and evolution of time. It wasn’t until recently that dominant species, such as humans, have taken the course of nature into their own hands.
This source is reliable on how to save the tigers, and what you can do to help. The source are very useful for the topic, if you wanted to know how tigers getting saved, when is the deadline for saving the tigers, and what is the cause this article is a good piece of information, because the goal of this source is the plan on saving the tigers.
Shah, Anup. Loss of Biodiversity and Extinctions. Global Issues, 19 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 May 2014.
Scientists have begun to say that we have to do more to protect our ecosystem, because our very existence is depending upon it. When the ecosystem is not functioning properly the continuation of plant, animal and human life ecosystems would be impossible. Life cycles can not function without ecosystems. The ecosystem provides us with clean air, water, habitats for fish and other services. They also aid in the mod...
Loss of biodiversity is an environmental issue that is causing a lot of global concern. Some of the main causes for loss in biodiversity are alteration of habitats, increasing levels of pollution and human population growth. There are measures that are being taken worldwide to prevent loss of biodiversity. Many wildlife sanctuaries have been built worldwide to preserve the lives of various endangered species. However, it is important to remember that every individual has a role in the protection of wildlife and biodiversity. Every human being should play his part of the role by following simple rules such as stopping others from the hunting of endangered species, preventing deforestation, encouraging reforestation and creating awareness among fellow human beings.
It is known that the world relies on capital. Without it the economy would collapse leading to war, famine, and death. Wildlife is an integral part of the world's economy. The world's populatio...
Biodiversity is so important that if any chain or link is disturbed then the whole system will come to a halt. Biodiversity also boosts ecosystem productivity and if it declines automatically our ecosystem also declines as both are interdependent upon each other, where all the species play an essential role in the way ecosystem functions, so local and global species loss could threaten the stability of the ecosystem services on which humans depend. This is an interesting topic as well as a global issue concerning the whole human civilization and their existence. . The said issue as well as many other issues regarding our natural processes cannot be neglected as our present and future depends entirely on the sustainability and growth of this ecosystem and biodiversity. Our ecosystem completely depends on the way biodiversity functions. This is the reason I have chosen this topic and gathered information about how it e...