Spotlight on the Tiger

"Tyger Tyger burning bright, In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye, Could frame thy fearful symmetry?"

Read the complete poem

The glorious Tiger a beast of the forest that inspired Blake's wonderful poem is a very much endangered and vulnerable creature. Superstition, ignorance and greed are leading to this magnificent creature being hunted and persecuted into oblivion. Three subspecies, the Bali, Javan and Caspian Tigers are now extinct and the remaining forms are subject to continued persecution. Tigers only occur in Asia.

Life Cycle. A female Tiger reaches maturity at around 3 years old.The cubs are born around 103 days after mating and at around 7 weeks old their mother will start weaning them onto meat by taking them to her kills. They will not start killing prey for themselves until they are about a year and a half old.

Tigers usually feed on animals such as Deer and Wild Boar. The infamous man-eating Tigers are usually sick or injured individuals that find it difficult to hunt.

Threats. The greatest threats to the Tiger come from poaching. It is persecuted for its upposed medicinal qualities. Although it is not used in modern Chinese medicine, superstition still persists and many people still believe that Tiger products particularly the bones have mysical healing qualities. Such beliefs are hard to change and they create a lucrative market for illegal Tiger products. The poaching problem is very very serious and many experts believe that unless this abominable trade is stopped the beautiful Tiger will be no more.