Year of the Tiger – time to save them

By Zara Urvashi Ramaniah

The Chinese Spring Festival ushers in the most important event of the calendar – the New Year. The celebrations begin with the first new moon after the winter solstice and end with the next full moon. We are currently in the middle of the New Year festivities; the Spring Festival began on Feb. 14th and will end on the Feb. 28th. As we enter the Year of the Tiger, conservationists and Asian states renew their efforts to save these cats from becoming extinct.

Profile: The Tiger

• Tigers are the largest cats to be found on the Asian continent and are only found in Asia. • Only six species remain in the world today: Amur (Siberian), Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan, South China, and Sumatran. • No two tigers have the same markings. • They can grow from 139.7 to 299.7 centimetres depending on species and gender. • Adult male tigers can weigh as little as 140 kilograms and as much as 300 kg, while the females are generally smaller. • Tigers are solitary creatures and have large territories that depend on how much wilderness is available to them. • A tiger’s territory is his or hers until he or she dies, and their territory stretches across 13 countries in Southeast Asia. • Cubs leave the mother when they are two years old, and do not reach sexual maturity until they are three to four years old for females, and up to five years old for males. • Tigers rely on sight and sound while hunting. • Tigers are prudent creatures; they do not abandon a kill after feeding from it once, but return to it until everything is eaten.

King of the jungle

According to Chinese mythology the tiger is the natural rival of the dragon (think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), but this hasn’t prevented man from driving these regal animals almost to extinction. Tigers are prized not only for their thick pelts, but also for their bones, whiskers, eyeballs, teeth, and other parts. In China and surrounding countries, tiger parts are believed to have potent medicinal properties that are said to cure many ailments, including skin diseases and impotency. Even though traditional Chinese medicine specialists claim that they don’t need tiger parts and that they are able to use alternatives (such as mole rat bone instead of tiger bone), the illegal trade thrives. The World Bank has expressed concern over tiger farms, saying that it encourages trade in tiger parts and undermines resolution 12.5 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) which focuses on the conservation of tigers. CITES is an international treaty signed by governments dedicated to make sure their trade does not endanger any animal or plant species, and the resolution prohibits the international and domestic trade of tiger parts. The Global Tiger Initiative, an alliance of over 40 conservation groups, and TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, have joined the World Bank in calling for the closing of tiger farms, despite the fact that these farms claim to be tourist attractions and have no dealings with harvesting their cats. Tiger habitats are shrinking, poaching is increasing, and the end of the year of the tiger could mean the end of the tiger population in China. In China an estimated 4,000 tigers are bred in captivity, with less than 30 tigers in the wild. Farming tigers is an extremely expensive venture. Not only does it keep the trade in tiger parts alive, but it further endangers wild tigers, as poaching them is much cheaper and very profitable: A single pelt can fetch more than $21,000; a single paw, over $1,000. The farms have been openly selling tiger bone wine for $140, as well as tiger steaks. Several tigers are kept in a single pen, constricting for animals that are solitary beings by nature and used to vast expanses of land as their territories. Tigresses are also made to bear cubs three times a year – three times the natural rate – and the cubs are made to suckle on goats and pigs. Visitors to these farms are treated to Roman-like entertainment: a live cow or goat is let into the pens while the crowd looks on as it is torn apart by the pacing tigers. For the past 16 years, China has banned the selling of tiger parts or any medicine containing tiger. However, there is a push within the country to lift this ban, the pressure coming from the many tiger farms within the country. The attitude of the Chinese government towards the trade in tiger parts has come under a great deal of criticism from conservation groups, the World Bank, and the governments of other nations. The Indian government has been particularly vocal in their censure. Trying to save its 1,400 tigers, the nation is blaming the poaching of the Bengal tiger on the demand of tiger parts in China. India believes that China has not done all it could to crack down on the trade, pointing to the farms, which are in violation of CITES.

God save the king

The World Bank has decided to join TRAFFIC, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and other groups to help have this majestic creature. In partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, Robert Zoellick, World Bank president have set aside over $1-million in funds to protect tiger habitats. The plan is to expand nature reserves across the 13 countries and try and connect the reserves wherever possible, as well as provide funds for rangers in anti-poaching training. The idea behind the project is not only to save the tigers, but the forests as well. By doing that, thousands of other forest dwellers are saved, injecting money into the local communities by creating more jobs – like increasing the number of rangers. The Chinese government has declared that the year of the tiger will see a strengthening of protective measures for tigers within China. Plans are underway to implement tiger-friendly forest management in China and increased cooperation between Russia and China to protect the tigers that cross their borders. Prime Minister Putin and Robert Zoellick will be hosting the first tiger summit together in September 2010 in Vladivostok, Russia. Though these proposed plans are encouraging, the fate of the tiger remains in limbo, as at the next CITES conference, to take place in Doha, Qatar, Chinese tiger farmers are set to urge the member states to have their businesses legitimized. James Compton, the program director of TRAFFIC in Asia, also does not sound hopeful as he looks back on the last year of the tiger and recalls the campaign in 1998 to save the world's last 5,000 tigers; just over 3,000 remain today. It’s time the tiger defeated the dragon. Maybe it’s time for some divine intervention.

The Chinese Zodiac

The Chinese zodiac follows the lunar calendar, and a person's zodiac sign depends on the year in which he or she was born. In Chinese lore, tigers are considered the kings of all animals, much like the Leo in the Greek zodiac. The tiger, like every other sign in the Chinese Zodiac has specific character traits associated with it, including luck, power, and courage. These attributes are essential to the survival of the species, as the tiger population dwindles steadily.

Zodiac sign according to year of birth

Rat 1924 1936 1948 1960 1972 1984 1996 2008 Ox 1925 1937 1949 1961 1973 1985 1997 2009 Tiger 1926 1938 1950 1962 1974 1986 1998 2010 Rabbit 1927 1939 1951 1963 1975 1987 1999 2011 Dragon 1928 1940 1952 1964 1976 1988 2000 2012 Snake 1929 1941 1953 1965 1977 1989 2001 2013 Horse 1930 1942 1954 1966 1978 1990 2002 2014 Sheep 1931 1943 1955 1967 1979 1991 2003 2015 Monkey 1932 1944 1956 1968 1980 1992 2004 2016 Rooster 1933 1945 1957 1969 1981 1993 2005 2017 Dog 1934 1946 1958 1970 1982 1994 2006 2018 Pig 1935 1947 1959 1971 1983 1995 2007 2019

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