Ali Okyay.
Dibert.
English 1101.
19 March 2002.
Preservation of The Bengal Tigers.
The preservation of beautiful species is becoming an increasingly common preoccupation in this new age. The Bengal tiger is a unique and beautiful creature. To many, the most spectacular of all wild animals and it is certainly worthy of protection. In the last century, we have seen the efforts to save this big cat escalate to unprecedented levels. Despite all of this fanfare over various efforts to save endangered species, it is still uncertain if the tiger has a chance at long-term survival in the wild. Literally hundreds of organizations exist for the sole purpose of aiding the survival of the wild tiger, but it remains to be seen how effective their efforts are: the future of the wild Bengal tiger is not even close to being secure.
Tiger populations today are so far from what they were even a century ago. In India alone, numbers have declined from 50,000 to between 3750 and 2000 today (Brakefield 38). Indian officials carried out a census in their country in 1993, estimating the tiger population to be about 3,500, there are inaccuracies that could question the credibility of these results. There is a tendency to double count tigers when identifying them only from pug marks (tracks) and the people in charge of the counting have a tendency to present the tiger population in a favorable light to make it look like the conservation programs have been successful. Also, if these officials generate low numbers, it looks like they have not been doing their jobs well. The true estimate for the Indian population of Bengals in 1996 was probably fewer than 2,500 (Shah 132).
The wild Bengal tiger faces many more threats than typically suspected by the average person.