Chinese "Last" Year of the Tiger

The Chinese Year of the Tiger began on 14^th February 2010. According to the Chinese zodiac sign, the year 2010 is the year of the tiger, which extends from 14^th February 2010 to 2^nd February 2011. The previous years of the tiger are 1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, and 1998. In the circle of the “Heavenly Branches”, the year of the tiger is the third year, also known as “Yin”. 2010 is the “Ji-Chou” year. Jji is the sixth of the Ten Celestial Stems and yin is the third of the Twelve Terrestrial Branches and marks the Year of the Tiger.

Of all the worlds that this Year of Tiger will affect, perhaps the most threatened is that of the tigers that still roam in the world’s fast declining forest lands. It is thought that there are only 20 tigers left in the wild in China, and in India, poachers are working doubly hard to make good use of the world’s largest tiger population. It is now officially estimated that there are only 1411 tigers left in India, which is a half of the amount that was present a decade ago and only a fraction of the approximate total of 1,00,000 tigers that once roamed the Indian subcontinent in the early 20^th Century. In India, however, the laws against poaching are not strict enough.

If an offence is committed against the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, there is a maximum sentence of three years imprisonment or a fine which may extend to Rs. 25,000 or both. For an offence against a Schedule I or Schedule II (part 2) animal, or for an offence committed within a sanctuary or natural park, there is a mandatory prison term of three years, which may extend to seven years. There is also a mandatory fine of at least Rs. 10,000. For a subsequent offence, the mandatory prison remains same, while the mandatory fine is at least Rs.25, 000. For an offence committed inside the core area of a Tiger Reserve, there is a mandatory prison term of three years, extendable to seven years and a fine of Rs. 50,000 extendable to Rs. 2 lakhs. In case of a subsequent conviction, there is an imprisonment of at least seven years and a fine of Rs. 5 lakhs which may extend to Rs. 50 lakhs. Despite these penalties, the laws are difficult to enforce and to date, in spite of hundreds of cases; only 16 people have ever been convicted of killing a tiger.

Most poachers in India have international links, who supply them with the necessary equipments and exposure to carry out the heinous act. Poachers use one of the following methods to kill a wild tiger:

1. Poison – This is usually placed in the carcasses of domestic buffaloes and cows. During the dry, hot summer months small forest pools are also poisoned by poachers, or depressions dug and filled with water for this purpose. There is a sophisticated and well organised supply route operated by the major traders, to distribute poison and collect tiger bones from the remotest villages. .

2. Steel Traps – These are made by nomadic blacksmiths. These traps are immensely strong. In a tiger poaching case near Raipur in 1994, it took six adult men to open a trap. In one area in central India, investigators found that so many steel traps had been set that the villagers were fearful of going into the forest. People have received dreadful injuries from these traps.

3. Firearms –These are used where hunting can be carried out with little hindrance.

4. Electrocution –This is carried out by tapping 230 volts -11KV overhead electrical wires and laying a live wire on animal tracts.

While shrinking habitats remain the major problem, the biggest threat to Indian Tigers is probably the Chinese hunger for tiger parts. “All of the demand for tiger parts is coming from China,” said Belinda Wright, executive director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India. “Unless the Chinese change their attitude, the tiger has no future on this earth.”

China has banned the trade of tiger parts since 1993, but there is still a huge market for tiger bones, traditionally priced for their healing and tiger skins, which has become a symbol of aristocracy among the Chinese elite. The value of a dead tiger is sky high, giving poachers all the many more reasons to make the kill. In 2009 according to the government census, 88 tigers were found dead, double the amount in 2008. For the calculation, either dead tigers found in the national reserves or tiger parts seized at border crossings are used. Hence the actual number could be even more.

Surprisingly, China bans the use of tiger parts in traditional medicine but overlooks the sale of alcohol-based health tonics steeped in tiger bone. It is a grey area that has been exploited by Chinese tiger farms, which raise thousands of animals with assembly-line efficiency. If there is any mystery about what happens to the big cats at Xiongsen Tiger and Bear Mountain Village in Guilin, it is partly explained in the gift shop, where fuzz coated bottles in the shape of a tiger are filled with “bone strengthening” wine. The liquor, which costs $132 for a 6 year old brew, is sold openly across the surrounding Guangxi region and beyond. “This stuff works wonders”, said Zhang Hanchu, the owner of a spirits shop Guilin. A daily shot glass of the rice-based alcohol, he said, can reduce joint stiffness and a lot of other clinically critical illness. With the year of the tiger nearing, demand has been soaring, he said.

The Xiongsen Bear and Tiger Village is located about 25minutes from the city centre just off the Guilin Airport expressway. It's located right by the highway ticket booth, where one has to pay the toll to enter the expressway. The zoo extents over 300,000 square meters, and is one of the largest tiger and bear zoos. There is supposed to be 1100 tigers, 300 lions, and 300 bears. It also has various other types of animals such as monkeys, snakes, crocodiles, and many other species. As claimed by the zoo to "maintain the wild nature of the beasts", they hold daily training performances, which are more ridiculous than appealing! Tigers perform like dogs, giving displays of obedience, patience and un-tigerly skills, much to the amusement of some spectators and the dismay of the wild-life enthusiasts. And if there are enough people watching, they’ll put a tiger and cattle in the same cage, in a ridiculous re-emanation of the jungle experience. Opened in 1993 with financing from the State Forestry Administration, Xiongsen is china’s largest tiger-breeding operation. Some of its 1100 tigers roam treeless, fenced-in areas, while many others are packed in small cages where they pace agitatedly. The park is a fairly dispiriting place. In addition to the tigers, there are hundreds of capuchin monkeys rattling in cages, awaiting their fate as fodder for medicinal elixirs or medical experiments. Beside these the 300 Asian Brown Bears are used for their bile, which is supposed to improve eye-sight! Even two years ago, Xiongsen sold tiger steaks in its restaurant, with the name “Big King Meat”. After a press intervention two years ago, the names have changed now. Even in the wine bottles the word tiger has been replaced with “rare animal bones”, but the retailers proudly confirm that the key ingredient is indeed, tiger bones. Government official and small fry alike, the wine is a huge hit among every Chinese. Chinese government, in a way, might be turning a blind eye to the felonies of these farms, due to their politically powerful owners. Ironically, inside the Xiongsen bear and Tiger Village hangs a large sign, “Protecting Wild Animals is the bounden duty of every citizen”

But despite these captive tigers being bred for the demands of their bones and carcass, poached tigers actually fetch far more money, because the Chinese somehow believe that the healing properties of a wild tiger is far more than those brought up in captivity. These farms, incidentally, provide cover for the poached tigers.

This Chinese year could be a rare opportunity to actually uphold the case of the fast vanishing tiger to the world. The awareness in the world is increasing by the day and this might lead in the intervention of top world bodies and authorities in what could be the last effort to save the tiger. But even with optimism, there are nightmares. The last tiger year was 1998. James Compton, Asia program director for TRAFFIC, which monitors the global wildlife trade, recalls similar efforts that were carried out last time around to upload the case of the tiger. He has a vivid memory of a poster used for that occasion – SAVE THE LAST 5,000 TIGERS

In a way this Chinese year could well be the last year of the Tiger in the wild, or might as well pave the path for the majestic beast’s road to extinction. But this could also be the year we all realised the true worth of the Tiger in the Wild. It’s neither the balance of the ecosystem nor the equilibrium of nature that gets lost with the tiger. It is, in fact, the human nature, the only thing that separates and makes us civilized, that gets lost with them. We go back in history to being the dominant animal which wiped out the recessive species, for fun, entertainment and luxury.

Courtesy – Andrew Jacobs of The New York Times & Google Search