Tigers, magnificent apex predators, are facing an accelerating decline in populations globally. These powerful felines are now categorized as endangered, with their survival hanging in the balance. Understanding the pressures driving them towards extinction is crucial for the continued existence of these iconic big cats in their natural habitats.
Illegal Wildlife Trade
The illegal wildlife trade represents a direct and severe threat to tiger populations, driven by high demand and substantial profits. Tigers are hunted for virtually every part of their bodies, which are then sold on a global black market. Their bones are sought for traditional medicine, skins are prized as luxury items, and teeth and claws are fashioned into trinkets.
This illicit trade is an organized criminal enterprise, valued at billions annually. Frequent seizures of tiger parts across tiger range countries indicate its widespread nature. Despite international bans, such as the 1975 CITES agreement, the illegal trade persists due to substantial financial gains and low risk for traffickers. This demand fuels poaching.
Habitat Destruction and Prey Depletion
Human activities lead to extensive habitat destruction and fragmentation. Deforestation for agricultural expansion, particularly for crops like palm oil and rubber, is a major driver. Large areas of rainforest are cleared for plantations, displacing tigers. For example, 90% of Sumatran tiger habitat has been lost to palm oil plantations, contributing to fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers remaining today.
Urbanization, infrastructure development, and mining operations further fragment these shrinking habitats. Roads, railways, and dams dissect tiger territories, creating barriers to movement and increasing human disturbance. Such linear infrastructure can increase tiger mortality through vehicle collisions and enhance access for poachers into previously remote areas. These developments lead to smaller, isolated patches of suitable habitat, limiting the space tigers need to roam, hunt, and breed effectively.
The loss and fragmentation of habitat directly contribute to prey depletion, as the ecosystems supporting deer, wild boar, and other ungulates diminish. Human activities like overhunting and competition with livestock reduce the availability of these food sources for tigers. When prey populations decline, tigers struggle to find sufficient food, leading to starvation and reduced reproductive success. This scarcity forces tigers to range more widely in search of sustenance, increasing exposure to human-dominated landscapes.
Human-Tiger Conflict
As tiger habitats shrink and fragment, these animals are increasingly pushed into closer proximity with human settlements. This encroachment often results in human-tiger conflict, as tigers may prey on livestock. In some cases, tigers may also attack humans, particularly when natural prey is scarce or territories overlap with human activity.
Such incidents provoke retaliatory killings by local communities. Individuals may resort to poisoning, trapping, or shooting tigers to protect their livelihoods and safety. These defensive actions contribute significantly to the decline in tiger numbers. These interactions pose a serious threat to the survival of tiger populations, especially in areas with high human population densities.
Climate Change and Genetic Vulnerabilities
Climate change presents a growing, indirect threat to tiger populations by altering their habitats. Rising sea levels significantly impact coastal mangrove forests like the Sundarbans, an important habitat for Bengal tigers. Studies predict that rising sea levels could cause a substantial decline, eliminating suitable tiger habitat in the Sundarbans by 2070. Increased salinity in freshwater sources and more frequent extreme weather events like floods and droughts also affect habitat quality and prey populations, affecting tiger survival.
Beyond environmental shifts, tigers face vulnerabilities stemming from their genetic makeup, exacerbated by population fragmentation. The reduction in tiger numbers has led to isolated groups, limiting their ability to interbreed. This isolation results in reduced genetic diversity and increased inbreeding within populations. Inbreeding can amplify harmful genetic traits, making tigers more susceptible to diseases, reducing their reproductive success, and diminishing their adaptability to changing environmental conditions. While Indian tigers possess the highest genetic variation among subspecies, habitat loss is leading to inbreeding and a loss of this diversity in fragmented populations.