Why are Tigers Disappearing?

The two major reasons tigers are dying out are habitat loss and poaching. 

1) Habitat Loss

Save Forests, Save tigers
Habitat loss and fragmentation is another important reason why tigers disappearing. Without a safe and healthy home for tigers and their prey, neither can survive in the wild. Humans are rapidly encroaching into wilderness areas that were once ruled exclusively by the tiger. In India, which is home to over one third of the world's wild tigers, the human population has exceeded one billion inhabitants. As tigers compete with humans for land, they find less and less to eat. Local people hunt the same prey as tigers do, pressing tigers to resort to domestic animals and, on rarer occasions, even humans. This makes them unpopular with villagers. Threatened villagers often poison, shoot, or snare the encroaching tigers. In addition to food, local communities also need to use the surrounding patches of forest area for livestock grazing and wood for fuel. Without wilderness, the wild tiger will not survive.

2) Poaching and Tiger Trade

Even though it is illegal to kill a tiger, wild tigers are still being poached today because their bones, whiskers and other body parts can be sold for a lot of money. Because of tiger's strength and mythical powers that the tiger has medicinal qualities which helps treat chronic ailments, cure diseases and replenish body's energy. The use of tiger parts in traditional Chinese medicines is a very old and expensive practice. But in the recent years the increase in living standards has made these remedies available to most people. There is a huge demand for parts of tigers in the Asian market which has led to sharp increase in their prices causing further increase in poaching activities by greedy hunters and traders.

Fortunately, there are natural alternatives for those seeking traditional Chinese medicines to treat ailments and diseases without using tiger's derivatives.