TIGERS: At the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum
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Sumatran Tiger Cubs:
Conservation and Breeding Programs at the National Zoo
John Seidensticker, Ph.D.
Senior Curator
Stalking his mom, killing a sapling, and hissing at a spectator, Berani the tiger cub, born in the fall of 2001, delighted Zoo visitors who crowded the Great Cats exhibit. Even as a near-adult, Berani—and all tigers—are Zoo favorites.
What they don’t know is how important they are. These are Sumatran tigers, from an Indonesian island population whose numbers in the wild probably don’t top 500, and in zoos number only 209 worldwide, of which 49 are in North American zoos. In all of Asia, there are only another 5,000 or so tigers, living in small populations scattered from India to the Russian Far East. Without concerted action, wild tigers could become extinct within the lifetime of these newborn cubs.
Fortunately, many people and organizations are taking action. The birth of Berani is one example.
Each person these crowd-pleasers charm is another potential convert to the conservation cause. Everyone loves baby animals, so breeding tigers and other endangered species in zoos helps create constituencies to champion the survival of their wild cousins.
Zoo tigers also serve as insurance against the demise of wild tigers. There is no doubt that tigers will survive in zoos (as well as in private hands. The number of tigers in zoos—218 in North America and 1,200 worldwide—is more than matched by the number owned by circuses, entertainers, and other individuals). Managing zoo tigers to maintain genetic diversity, as they are in North America by the Species Survival Plan, secures their future. The problem is not too few tigers, just too few wild tigers.
Contrary to what we’ve all heard, the problem is not even, or not especially, too little habitat left in Asia. Even though Asia’s human population has skyrocketed while its tiger population has plummeted, there are still wild lands sufficient to support tigers long into the future if, of course, these lands are allowed to stay wild. A more immediate problem is a lack of deer and wild pigs, the prey upon which tigers rely almost exclusively. Unfortunately, people desire venison and pork as much as tigers do. Excessive hunting has stripped all the tiger food from vast areas of forest. Protecting prey and managing hunting will go a long way toward securing a future for wild tigers in Asia.
Another real problem is poaching, fueled in the last decade by growth in demand for tiger parts—bones mostly—for use in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Surprisingly, while China has banned this use and demand may be falling there, it may be increasing outside of China, in cities like New York and Washington, D.C. Recently, however, conservationists have been meeting with practitioners of TCM to find ways—such as developing a substitute for tiger bones—to both save tigers and provide health treatment to millions of people who rely on TCM.
In the end, tigers will survive only if we all care enough
to support efforts to save them. You can help just by bringing
your family and friends to the Smithsonian National Zoo so
they too can be charmed by our tigers and be converted to
the
cause.
