Re: Tigers - NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

I just saw another article discussing the imminent demise of the tiger species in the wild.

I’m more upset about that than I am about genocide of humans. I’m not saying I’m a good person, or that anyone else should think the way I do, but I feel worse about an animal suffering than people.

It’s not fair! Tigers are beautiful creatures, and quite awesome (dictionary definition, not Keanu Reeves definition). Why!!! I mean besides all the obvious reasons…poaching, deforestation, human expansion. But why! oh why can’t we live in peace with animals? It’s not like we’re too stupid of a species to figure it out. It’s just that we always take the easy road…always! Or whichever road leads to immediate wealth at the expense of long term environmental balance. And it pisses me off!

Not that I’ll become an environmentalist or anything…just a mundane pointless mini rant that I felt I must share.

I’d rather have the tiger and all other animal species live without our disgusting “human interruption” than anything else. Sure species live and die without our knowledge, but at least in those cases it’s not because we’re trying to rape the land or animals for our selfish pleasures or so we can live where we want to or so a government can have a boundary over here instead of over there. If it were as simple as cutting off my right arm so that human/animal balance could be realized, I’d do it.

It sucks man…sucks. :frowning:

I agree, it would completely suck if they went extinct, even if only in the wild. They deserve to me more than zoo attractions.

Here’s some slightly more positive news though. Right now there is a tiger conservation summit in St. Petersburg:

So it seems that the remaining tiger nations are having some rather high-level talks (which is quite unprecedented according to the article) on how to conserve the species. Hopefully they can agree to some effective measures.

Bangladesh, which is attending the above-referenced summit, I think, has already set tougher penalties for poachers, up to 12 years in prison. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40287437/ns/world_news-world_environment

Hope this will be just a start. The poachers need to find some other sustainable work, or most will probably continue to risk it.

What, you mean they lost ANOTHER perfect game due to an umpire’s bad call?
Oh, wait…n/m. :cool:

On topic: Yes, it will suck when tigers go extinct in the wild. Problem is, humans have encroached on their territory to such a degree, there’s really no way to save them without mass human extermination. (Not that I’d necessarily be against that.) The sad truth is, animal species go extinct all the time, due to another species out-competing them. Darwinism can be a bitch sometimes.

The good thing about tigers is that they are easy to breed in captivity and there are lots and lots of them in private hands so they aren’t one of those species that will truly go extinct because of fussiness about breeding conditions. I know it is a small consolation but I have read that there are more pet tigers in Texas alone than in the wild in India. You can buy them easily online as pets to keep legally as pets in many states. I know that isn’t the goal but the tigers themselves will be around if their natural habitat ever gets straightened out enough to reintroduce large numbers of them back into the wild.

they are using the year of the tiger to save the tiger. people and big cats can live together. you just have to be really, really, respectful of them.

there are tribes here and there that do very well with big cats, they have managed to live side by side and not be eaten by the cats.

You have to work long and hard to eradicate humans - there are 6.7 billion of us, after all. Wiping out complete other species is relative child’s play. (I agree with you, by the way - a dead tiger is a hell of a lot worse tragedy than a dead human, in my opinion).

Speaking of co-habitating with large cats, the cougar has an unearned bad reputation in Canada, in spite of their relative harmlessness;

(They say “at least,” but the statistics I see at other sources are comparable.) Compare 23 deaths in 120 years with approximately 40,000 deaths PER YEAR for car collisions in the US.

I agree that tigers going extinct would suck, but I find humans more important than all animals.

  1. Life is not fair.
  2. Humans are beautiful creatures too. Especially the females.
  3. Humans are pretty awesome. (Both definitions).