Science College, General Science Dept

Environmental Friendliness

by Jessie Blyton

 

THE TIGER

Let us consider our cousin the tiger. A tiger's habitat is the sunbeam-shafted forests where his stripes are camouflage. His story shows us what is happening to the earth today because forests are being chopped down. Estimates vary but there are only 4 to 6 thousand tigers left in the whole world today living in the wild.

It's estimated that every year about 250 tigers are being lost through habitat loss, poaching and prey decline. Habitat loss is probably the most important factor, and prey decline is also related in part to habitat loss - less habitat means less room for the prey too.

This loss of habitat is a problem for many animals on earth. All across the planet both animal and plant species are disappearing every day, largely through habitat loss. A species that disappears may be another species' food or shelter, and when it goes the other goes too, and so on. Human scientists argue that eventually such "mass extinction" may lead to a situation where the web of life itself will unravel and all life will be threatened.

       

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