Bengal Tiger

Bengal Tigers are animals that are primarily found across India. The general description of a Bengal Tiger is a tiger with a yellow or light orange coat, with black or dark brown stripes and a white belly. There is such thing as a white tiger, which is a Bengal tiger with mutated genes. These animals typically hunt large mammals, and the only real threat to the Bengal tiger is humans. The objective of this blog it to examine why this species of animal is considered endangered. According to A-Z animals, "Despite being the most common of all the tiger species, there are thought to be around 2,000 Bengal tigers left in the wild." 

                                 Bengal Tiger in the grasslands of Madhya Pradesh                                                            Source: Live Animalist                                                                                                                                                                                 http://www.liveanimalslist.com/interesting-animals/siberian-tiger-vs-bengal-tiger.php 

Area of Study

This blog focuses mainly on Bengal Tigers in India. However, in order to analyze the declining population it is important to recognize that the tiger and its ecosystem are inseparable. The ecosystem that the Bengal Tigers primarily live are the grasslands of India.
According to biologydiscussion.com, this is a map of the different types of grasslands that exist. Each grassland has different characteristics, one might have sandy soil and another will have high mountains. 

                                                               Source: Biology Discussion 

http://www.biologydiscussion.com/vegetation/grassland-vegetation-in-india-with-map-and-statistics/6964

Since our main focus is the Bengal Tiger in India and how it is impacted, there is a map of Bengal Tiger Numbers in India pictured below. This picture is from WWF India. 

Source: World Wildlife 

http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/bengal-tiger

Current Human Impacts on the Ecosystem

Right now, nearly 40% of these protected grassland areas suffer from livestock grazing and fodder extraction. Grasslands of India are home to some of the most endangered species of animals.

Source: Value of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in South Asia and India

http://slideplayer.com/slide/6147886/

             Although this doesn’t directly show how humans are impacting the ecosystem, it clearly shows how grasslands have declined by almost 50%. The reason that this is so important to our topic of the Bengal Tiger is that this animal’s home is primarily the grasslands. So, the more depletion of the grasslands there is, the less land there is for the tiger to occupy. This would lead to a reduction of the tiger population.
            One of the biggest threats to tigers is humans. We impact the animal's habitat, making it unlivable. Human development forces these animals to live in small, isolated patches of habitat that aren’t the ideal conditions for the animal. Sooner or later the number of Bengal tigers will decline, as shown in the graph above. Essentially, just the presence of humans is hurting the tiger population. 
            Another way humans are negatively impacting the environment is by poaching. A dead tiger is worth around a total of $30,000. There are no effective laws in place to stop this act, so people continuously go after these tigers. Tiger parts are also extremely valuable. For instance, tiger claws can be used as sedatives for insomnia, and tiger teeth can be used to treat fevers. This is one huge reason as to why the Bengal Tiger population is declining.

           

Grasslands Through the Years

As the chart above shows, the conditions of the grasslands in India changed drastically after 1950. From 1900 to 1950 it is apparent that the drop in the grasslands is not significant. Compared to some of the other biomes, grasslands experienced pretty insignificant drops in numbers. However, after 1950, the real damage was done. As presented by the chart, it at this time that grasslands experienced the biggest decrease. This is due to the human impacts that were mentioned before. Since 1950, the number of grasslands have simply been decreasing and will continue to follow this trend. According to the IUCN list of threatened species, the occupied area of Bengal Tigers in 2006 was 41% less than the area occupied by the tigers in 1997. This shows that due to the dramatic decline of grasslands, the population of the tigers has also been decreasing. A large reason as to why this is happening is industrialization. Forests were cut and grasslands ruined in order for new buildings and factories to be made. Since then, the value of these habitats has decreased and so has our care for them. It is because of this that the number of grasslands is continually decreasing. 

What is the Future of the Ecosystem?

Source: Save the Striped Heavenly Creature "The Tiger"

https://yanivx.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/save-the-striped-heavenly-creature-the-tiger/

This graph shows the general trend of the Bengal Tiger population in India. Based on the human impacts listed above, if things keep going the way they currently are, the Bengal Tiger has a very good chance of going extinct in India. It is extremely likely, based on past indicators, that the Bengal Tiger will go extinct in the next two decades. Not only that, but the habitat of the tigers are also being destroyed, as shown in the chart titled "Losses for India Between 1900 and 2000." There is a direct relationship between the population of the tiger and how much land the tiger has to live on. As grasslands keep being destroyed, the tiger population keeps reducing. 

Maintaining Human Impacts on Grasslands

Simply identifying the problem with human interaction with grasslands isn't enough. It's also important to decide what can be done next to prevent the further destruction of not only grasslands, but also the Bengal Tiger population in India. Currently, there are a few protective measures in place. There are protected areas where tigers can live without feeling any negative human impacts. These places are in Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh.

Source: Human Threat and India's Bengal Tiger

https://sites.google.com/site/aubreycun/home

Another way to improve the relationship between human and tiger is to increase the effort to protect tiger habitats, which are the grasslands. By keeping these areas just for tigers and other wildlife instead of for human use, the population can stay as it is. Problems such as deforestation should be eliminated to ensure that tigers have a place to live. This would in turn also reduce poaching, because humans would not have access to the animals. This plan is already in effect, but at the rate that it is going, the population is not being improved. Each individual person can help in his or her own way by not buying products that are made from tiger parts or skins.
In addition, poaching, shown in the image above, is illegal. So any signs of this activity should be reported immediately.

A healthy tiger population is a sign of a healthy ecosystem, due to the fact that tigers need a substantial amount of prey and resources in order to survive.

Works Cited

Bhagavatula, Jyotsna. "Genotyping Faecal Samples of Bengal Tiger Panthera Tigris Tigris for Population Estimation: A Pilot Study." 7.12 (2006). Print.

Curk, Tim. "Bengal Tigers - Key Facts, Information & Pictures." Animal Corner. 13 Aug. 2013. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

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. Environment 360, 10 Nov. 2010. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

Sarkar, Monica. "Can Tigers Claw Their Way Back from Extinction? - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 20 Jan. 2015. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

Sevigny, Francois. "Bengal Tiger." WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, 2015. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

Saxena, Shrey. "Bengal Tiger, Bengal Tiger Pictures, Bengal Tiger Facts - National Geographic." National Geographic. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

"Chinese Medicine." Tigers in Crisis. 2015. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.