Word: tigers
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Dates: during 2010-2019
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...interest in the culture was really sparked by the movie ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,’ to be honest,” said Melvoin, who has studied Chinese since high school...
...truth, conservationists aren't even sure exactly how many captive tigers there are in the U.S., although their estimate exceeds 5,000. That includes not just tigers in zoos and private wildlife reserves, but animals kept by private owners as pets, sometimes in terrible conditions. In 2003, a 31-year-old man in New York City was arrested after police discovered he was keeping an adult tiger (and an alligator) as pets in his Harlem apartment. Worse, in 2001, three tigers were found caged in the backyard of a Texas mobile home - authorities discovered the animals only after one escaped...
...greater danger of captivity is to the animals themselves. Tiger cubs that are bought as pets - it can be done online, legally - are often abandoned once they get bigger and considerably less cute. Reserves and sanctuaries can take some of the unwanted tigers, but many refuges have been overwhelmed by demand...
There are also real concerns among conservationists that some private parks in the U.S. are raising tigers specifically for the global wildlife trade. Along with bones, tiger skins are coveted as ceremonial garb in some cultures, or as decoration. (Although the international trade in tigers and tiger parts is illegal, few countries have taken steps to actually enforce the ban.) "Unless we can crack down on the illegal trade and on poachers in the wild, tigers have very little chance of survival," says Keshav Varma, the program director of the World Bank's global tiger initiative. (See a cheapskate...
Protecting tigers in captivity is one thing, but the bigger challenge is restoring their numbers in the wild. Deforestation and the ballooning human populations in Asia have chased tigers out of their native habitat. Yet the health of the tiger means the health of the planet. "If there is a tiger in the forest, it's a sign that the forest and the other animals in it are healthy," says Varma. "Tigers are the face of biodiversity." Hopefully, then, 2010 will truly be the tiger's year...