Showing posts tagged tiger
Cats on the Brink - Endangered Felids:  Tigers by Jaymi Heimbuch Tigers are perhaps the most iconic cat species in the world, next to the African lion, and one of the most loved animal species worldwide. And yet, despite the respect, admiration and fear it inspires, it is endangered and disappearing from the wild at a rapid clip. There are six subspecies of tiger, including the more familiar Sumatran Tiger and Bengal Tiger, and some are more threatened than others. But the tiger as a species is in danger everywhere. Threats include a loss of habitat, but also they are hunted for their skins, and for parts of their bodies used as pain killers and aphrodisiacs (though there is zero scientific evidence that any part of a tiger has any medicinal properties). Though protected through CITIES, the black market trade in tigers (both alive and in pieces) is thriving. Today, the captive tiger populations for several subspecies outnumber the wild populations. Without more stringent protections and better enforcement, these big cats may disappear from the wild entirely. (read more: TreeHugger)                       (photo: Phillippe Put) View high resolution

Cats on the Brink - Endangered Felids:  Tigers

by Jaymi Heimbuch

Tigers are perhaps the most iconic cat species in the world, next to the African lion, and one of the most loved animal species worldwide. And yet, despite the respect, admiration and fear it inspires, it is endangered and disappearing from the wild at a rapid clip. There are six subspecies of tiger, including the more familiar Sumatran Tiger and Bengal Tiger, and some are more threatened than others. But the tiger as a species is in danger everywhere.
Threats include a loss of habitat, but also they are hunted for their skins, and for parts of their bodies used as pain killers and aphrodisiacs (though there is zero scientific evidence that any part of a tiger has any medicinal properties). Though protected through CITIES, the black market trade in tigers (both alive and in pieces) is thriving. Today, the captive tiger populations for several subspecies outnumber the wild populations. Without more stringent protections and better enforcement, these big cats may disappear from the wild entirely.

(read more: TreeHugger)                       (photo: Phillippe Put)

Cat fight to cat nap: Two teenage tigers need a long lie down after exhausting scrap These young Bengal Tigers went from having a ferocious cat fight to a cat nap after tiring each other out in a heated battle.With a swat of an enormous paw and a fearsome flash of teeth, this pair of young tigers were captured fighting tooth and claw at the Bandhavgarh National Park in India.But despite appearing to be a serious battle, the teenage tigers were actually just flexing their muscles with a bit of playful posturing… (read more and see the photos: Daily Mail UK) View high resolution

Cat fight to cat nap: Two teenage tigers need a long lie down after exhausting scrap

These young Bengal Tigers went from having a ferocious cat fight to a cat nap after tiring each other out in a heated battle.With a swat of an enormous paw and a fearsome flash of teeth, this pair of young tigers were captured fighting tooth and claw at the Bandhavgarh National Park in India.But despite appearing to be a serious battle, the teenage tigers were actually just flexing their muscles with a bit of playful posturing…

(read more and see the photos: Daily Mail UK)

Endangered Sumatran Tiger Born at Sacramento Zoo

by Andrea Thompson

What weighs 3 pounds, has its eyes closed and is striped?

A newborn male Sumatran tiger cub, born at the Sacramento Zoo on March 3, stands to be a boon for the critically endangered species.

The as-yet-unnamed cub was born to mom Bahagia at 2:55 a.m. and weighed 3 lbs (1.4 kg), a good size for a Sumatran tiger cub, which are usually only 2 pounds at birth. Both mother and baby tiger are in good health, the zoo noted in a release…

(read more: Our Amazing Planet)

Conserving Endangered Tigers A critically endangered Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) growls at a photographer at the Sumatra Tiger Rescue Centre compound, inside the Tambling Wildlife Nature Conservation (TWNC), near Bandar Lampung, Indonesia, on February 25, 2013. The rescue center has released five tigers since 2009 on the 45,000 hectares of the TWNC jungle. Eight tigers, which eat a total of 80 live pigs a month, are still under its care, but one of the eight will be released next year. The Sumatran tiger is a rare tiger subspecies that inhabits the Indonesian island of Sumatra and is classified as critically endangered. About 440-600 of these animals were accounted for by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2008. The owner of this preserve has said that it costs roughly $150,000 per month to maintain. (photo: Beawiharta/Reuters)                (via: Takepart.org) View high resolution

Conserving Endangered Tigers

A critically endangered Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) growls at a photographer at the Sumatra Tiger Rescue Centre compound, inside the Tambling Wildlife Nature Conservation (TWNC), near Bandar Lampung, Indonesia, on February 25, 2013.

The rescue center has released five tigers since 2009 on the 45,000 hectares of the TWNC jungle. Eight tigers, which eat a total of 80 live pigs a month, are still under its care, but one of the eight will be released next year.

The Sumatran tiger is a rare tiger subspecies that inhabits the Indonesian island of Sumatra and is classified as critically endangered. About 440-600 of these animals were accounted for by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2008. The owner of this preserve has said that it costs roughly $150,000 per month to maintain.

(photo: Beawiharta/Reuters)                (via: Takepart.org)

BEWARE THE TIGER SWARM! Siberian tigers approach a keeper’s car as they wait to be fed at the Siberian Tiger Forest Park in Harbin, China, on December 27, 2011. More than 800 Siberian tigers are currently living in the park, which is also a breeding center for this endangered species, according to a local report. Over the past decade, more than 1,000 critically endangered tigers have been killed for their furs and skins. A century ago, more than 100,000 tigers existed in the wild. Today, that number is estimated to be 3,500. The big cats occupy less than seven percent of their original range. (via: TakePart.org)                     (photo: Sheng Li/Reuters) View high resolution

BEWARE THE TIGER SWARM!

Siberian tigers approach a keeper’s car as they wait to be fed at the Siberian Tiger Forest Park in Harbin, China, on December 27, 2011. More than 800 Siberian tigers are currently living in the park, which is also a breeding center for this endangered species, according to a local report.

Over the past decade, more than 1,000 critically endangered tigers have been killed for their furs and skins. A century ago, more than 100,000 tigers existed in the wild. Today, that number is estimated to be 3,500. The big cats occupy less than seven percent of their original range.

(via: TakePart.org)                     (photo: Sheng Li/Reuters)

Corridors Critical for India’s Big Cats

by Brian Switek

Every day, little by little, our species is creating new islands…

These are not islands in the sea. They are patches of forest, grassland, mountainside, and swamp that encompass what remains of the wild. Unlike islands dotted across the sea, though, there are sometimes pathways between these protected swaths that permit organisms to traverse the small percentage of their range that remains open to habitation. In the case of central India’s tigers and leopards, these wildlife corridors are critical for survival.

Zoologists Sandeep Sharma and Trishna Dutta of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, along with a host of coauthors, have just published a pair of studies that used felid feces to gauge the genetic diversity of tigers and leopards in central India’s Satpura-Maikal region. This area is one of the richest tiger holdouts left in the world, despite the fact that these forests have been cut back over 75 percent over the last 300 years. The need for farmland, organized hunting, and, since the 1970s, poaching have all taken their toll on tiger populations while leopards, who do all they can to avoid the remaining tigers, have been pushed out towards the fringes where the forest meets human settlements.

Spread across several conservation areas, the big cats would seem to be isolated from each other. As Sharma, Dutta, and their colleagues found, though, the roads and trails between the parks are essential for genetic exchange between the forests…

(read more: National Geographic)        

(photos: T - Brian Switek; BL - Brian Gratwicke; BR - Sandeep Sharma)

Meet Smasher—the male in the background. That’s the name photographer Steve Winter gave this youngster, cooling off in a watering hole in Bandhavgarh National Park, after he slapped the automated camera trap until it stopped clicking. Both tigers are thought to have killed people, and Smasher is now in captivity. See more pictures from the Dec. 2011 feature story ”A Cry for the Tiger.” (via: National Geo)                 View high resolution

Meet Smasher—the male in the background. That’s the name photographer Steve Winter gave this youngster, cooling off in a watering hole in Bandhavgarh National Park, after he slapped the automated camera trap until it stopped clicking. Both tigers are thought to have killed people, and Smasher is now in captivity.

See more pictures from the Dec. 2011 feature story ”A Cry for the Tiger.”

(via: National Geo)                

GOOD NEWS:  Tigers Making A Comeback Across Asia by Becky Oskin Camera trap images reveal tiger numbers rebounding across Asia, especially in southwestern India, where young tigers are leaving protected reserves due to population pressure, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society. The WCS attributes the rise indifferent tiger groups to better law enforcement and protection of additional habitat. For example, a notorious poaching ring was busted in Thailand last year, and the gang leaders have been given prison sentences of up to five years — the most severe punishments for wildlife poaching in Thailand’s history, the conservation group said in a statement. Tiger numbers have been rising steadily in Thailand’s Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary since 2007, with a record 50-plus tigers counted last year, the WCS said. The sanctuary is part of the country’s Western Forest Complex. This core spans 7,000 sq mi (18,000 sq km) and is home to an estimated 125 to 175 tigers… (read more: Live Science)                   (photo: Wildlife Conservation Society) View high resolution

GOOD NEWS:  Tigers Making A Comeback Across Asia

by Becky Oskin

Camera trap images reveal tiger numbers rebounding across Asia, especially in southwestern India, where young tigers are leaving protected reserves due to population pressure, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society.

The WCS attributes the rise indifferent tiger groups to better law enforcement and protection of additional habitat. For example, a notorious poaching ring was busted in Thailand last year, and the gang leaders have been given prison sentences of up to five years — the most severe punishments for wildlife poaching in Thailand’s history, the conservation group said in a statement.

Tiger numbers have been rising steadily in Thailand’s Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary since 2007, with a record 50-plus tigers counted last year, the WCS said. The sanctuary is part of the country’s Western Forest Complex. This core spans 7,000 sq mi (18,000 sq km) and is home to an estimated 125 to 175 tigers…

(read more: Live Science)                   (photo: Wildlife Conservation Society)

In the above photo, a captive Siberian tiger aka Amur tiger aka is enjoying rolling around in the snow. Amur tigers, one of six remaining subspecies of tigers, are critically endangered. They are primarily found in eastern Russia, with a small number in northeastern China. [Gallery: Tiger Species of the World] (photo: Geoffrey Kuchera)                  (via: Live Science) View high resolution

In the above photo, a captive Siberian tiger aka Amur tiger aka is enjoying rolling around in the snow. Amur tigers, one of six remaining subspecies of tigers, are critically endangered. They are primarily found in eastern Russia, with a small number in northeastern China.

[Gallery: Tiger Species of the World]

(photo: Geoffrey Kuchera)                  (via: Live Science)

photo-of-the-week: “Only in our wildest dreams” * Two Bengal Tiger cubs lick their chops as a huge Gaur bull crosses the trail. View high resolution

photo-of-the-week: “Only in our wildest dreams”

* Two Bengal Tiger cubs lick their chops as a huge Gaur bull crosses the trail.

(Reblogged from ody-ssea)
Endangered Sumatran Tigers, Guntur and Deru, meet for the first time at Zoorasia in Yokohama, Japan. It was a tense meeting, with lots of growling and snarling, but the 2 are slowly getting used to each other’s company. Its very important that they do, as captive breeding is a key component to saving this species from extinction. (via: Smithsonian National Zoo) View high resolution

Endangered Sumatran Tigers, Guntur and Deru, meet for the first time at Zoorasia in Yokohama, Japan. It was a tense meeting, with lots of growling and snarling, but the 2 are slowly getting used to each other’s company. Its very important that they do, as captive breeding is a key component to saving this species from extinction.

(via: Smithsonian National Zoo)

Bupati, the female Malayan Tiger, a highly endangered sub-species of tiger, has just arrived at the Feline Conservation Center in Rosamond, CA, USA. Come visit her this weekend! http://www.wildcatzoo.org * The Exotic Feline Breeding Compound’s Feline Conservation Center is dedicated to the protection and preservation of the world’s endangered felines. View high resolution

Bupati, the female Malayan Tiger, a highly endangered sub-species of tiger, has just arrived at the Feline Conservation Center in Rosamond, CA, USA. Come visit her this weekend!

http://www.wildcatzoo.org

* The Exotic Feline Breeding Compound’s Feline Conservation Center is dedicated to the protection and preservation of the world’s endangered felines.

BBC Wildlife Camera-trap Photos of the Year 2012   Animal Portraits commended: Amur tiger cubs by Amur Leopard Project, Southwest Primorski Krai, Russian Far East. (via: DiscoverWildlife.com) View high resolution

BBC Wildlife Camera-trap Photos of the Year 2012  

Animal Portraits commended: Amur tiger cubs by Amur Leopard Project, Southwest Primorski Krai, Russian Far East.

(via: DiscoverWildlife.com)

BBC Wildlife Camera-trap Photos of the Year 2012 Animal Behaviour winner: Bengal Tiger eating Indian rhino by Sandesh Kadur, India (via: DiscoverWildlife.com) View high resolution

BBC Wildlife Camera-trap Photos of the Year 2012

Animal Behaviour winner: Bengal Tiger eating Indian rhino by Sandesh Kadur, India

(via: DiscoverWildlife.com)

Nature (PBS):  Siberian Tiger Quest - Alone With Tigers

Filmmaker Sooyong Park spent more than five years searching for Siberian tigers in Russia’s north eastern forests. His technique was unconventional, but produced over a thousand hours of wild tiger footage that told the story of a three-generation tiger dynasty. In this scene from Siberian Tiger Quest, Park discusses the emotional challenges that come with filming the natural world in extreme isolation for long periods of time.

(via: PBS.org)