A small study into the Anatomy of a Tiger.
(Amur/Siberian in this example)
Consumer demand for tiger parts poses the largest
threat to tiger survival. Tigers are being hunted to extinction by poachers for
their skins, bones, teeth and claws, which are highly valued for their use in traditional
Asian medicine, various folk remedies and various products. The wildlife trade
network, TRAFFIC, found that for the past two years, the smuggled parts from at
least 200 tigers have been confiscated per year by law enforcement in Asia. In
the past 10 years, over 1000 tigers have been killed to traffic their parts to
meet consumer demand in Asia.
Tiger bones have been used in traditional Asian
medicine for a wide variety of ailments for more than 1,000 years. In 1993 the
Chinese government banned the trade and use of tiger parts, but cultural belief
in the power of tiger parts remains.
Parts from a single tiger can fetch as much as
$50,000 on the black market, making the poaching of these magnificent creatures
very alluring to criminal networks.
Claws, teeth and whiskers are believed to provide good
luck and protective powers. And tiger skins and tiger bone wine are valued as
status symbols.
Text taken form http://www.savetigersnow.org
The profit of any Tiger or Wildlife art sold will be donated to savetigersnow.org