“Treat the earth well; It was not given to you by your parents, It was loaned to you by your children.”
– Native American Proverb
What if I told you that by the time you finish reading this blog post over three square miles of forest will be gone? What if by the end of this sentence, the equivalent of 36 football fields will have been irreversibly destroyed? I, like you, wish that this were nothing more than an urban legend, used to scare people into ‘going green’. Unfortunately this shocking statistic is just another number, one of many that shows our shocking destruction of the planet. Every day human activity destroys about 125 square miles of forest, thats almost 50,000 per year. Each forest we destroy means the loss of an animal’s natural habitat. It is estimated that each day hundreds of species of wildlife, be it plants or animals or insects, are lost. Admittedly we don’t even know about most of these species, and there loss has little effect, but there is one species soon to be gone forever that we all know. We see it at the zoo, read about it in children’s books, and watch it in awe in movies, it’s the Tiger.
Each year millions of people flock to this nations zoo, each time hoping to catch a glimpse of a tiger. Thousands more will take trips to foreign nations for the chance to see one in its natural habitat. At ten feet long and weighing up to 660 pounds the tiger is the largest of the big cats, dwarfing its next largest relative, the lion, by over 100 pounds. In one sitting the tiger can eat over 88 pounds of meat, they also can live to an age of 26 years in the wild. These are the simple facts of tigers, things read in magazines, seen on plaques at zoos, or seen on television special. There are however complicated facts, not complicated to understand but complicated to comprehend and deal with. These are the facts that deal with the current status of tigers. One of those complicated facts, in as little as 12 years tigers could go extinct, gone forever. Imagine a world in which our children only ever get to see ‘artist interpretations’ of Tigers.
The statistics surrounding tigers and their habit are astounding and shocking. In the last 100 years the world population of tigers has dropped drastically, from over 100,000 to less than 3,200. That means that since the year 1914 over 97 percent of tiger species has been lost. If this were the case with something we needed, such as a 97 percent decrease in our fresh water or crops our world would be in a state of panic. The greatest threat tigers face is the rapid destruction of the forests that they call home. Tiger habitats have been systematically destroyed for years, reducing the size of their range by over 93 percent of its historic size. Imagine if humans could only occupy 7 percent of the planet we live on. These statistics are shocking, and that’s the purpose. If we take action now we can make sure that these statistics, and not tigers, are a thing of the past.
Many people would argue that destruction of habitats is just a necessary evil in the ever globalizing and progressing human world. As populations grow roads must be built, housing developments erected, and ultimately forests destroyed. This to some degree is fact, as argued in the guardian, few would argue that pulling people out of poverty is a bad thing, . However what few people know is that a good amount of tiger habitat is destroyed for none of the aforementioned reasons. Much of the deforestation occurs for the collection of trees for their use in manufacturing. Most people have heard of the shampoo brand Head & Shoulders, what most people haven’t heard is that with each bottle of Head & Shoulders comes the destruction of tiger habitat. One of the crucial ingredients to this product is palm oil, a substance found in the trees of Indonesian forests. While many companies have worked towards using sustainable palm oil, Proctor & Gamble, the maker of Head & Shoulders, continues to palm oil that is generated from the destruction of tiger habitats.
I am not asking that people immediately take to the streets in protest of what’s happening. By no means would I suggest that one go and harass politicians or corporate executives about the issues. However I encourage all to become informed about what is happening, there is an abundance of information out there just waiting to be seen. Websites for organizations such as, the World Wildlife Fund, and Greenpeace have entire pages dedicated to background information and how you can help. It takes one Google search to see if the shampoo you’re currently using is contributing to this problem. People can argue all they want that this destruction is necessary for improvement of life or production of their products, however there is no arguing that our Earth is the only place we, humans, can live. There is no alternative we are here for the remainder of our lives and our species will be here long after our generation passes. Its important that we leave the planet in the same condition we found it, for those that come after.
References
Fraser, Caroline. “As Tigers Near Extinction, A Last-Ditch Strategy Emerges.” With Tigers Near Extinction, A Last-Ditch Strategy Emerges by Caroline Fraser: Yale Environment 360. Yale Environment 360, 15 Nov. 2010. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
“Tiger Challenge | Greenpeace.” Greenpeace. Greenpeace USA, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
Thompson, Christian. “Tigers on the Brink: Facing up to the Challenge in the Greater Mekong.” WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, 23 Aug. 2012. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
Long, Barney. “Tigers on the Brink: Facing up to the Challenge in the Greater Mekong.”WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2014.
“Zoo and Aquarium Statistics.” Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Association of Zoos and Aquariums, 3 Apr. 2013. Web. 06 Apr. 2014.