Foreword
The Chinese Year of the Tiger highlights the potent image of
the tiger through the ages. From the Caspian region, through tropical
Asia, and to the shores of the Sea of Japan, the tiger has cast its spell.
People incorporated it into their religions and culture, and even sought its
bones to combat disease.
There might have been 100,000 tigers in the vast forests and tall
grasslands of their range a century ago. Today, much of that forest and
almost all of the grasslands have gone as a growing human population
converts them to land for settlement and agriculture. Combined with
excessive hunting, this loss of habitat has reduced the world tiger
population to about a twentieth of its former number; as few as 5,000
may remain. And the threat to the tiger's existence continues, despite
efforts during the past 25 years by dedicated conservationists from
many countries.
The tiger is important because it is a symbol of our natural heritage and a
key part of the web of life which sustains us all. It depends on its food
base - mainly hoofed animals such as deer, pigs and cattle - which in
turn relies on such natural resources as vegetation and water, and on
the myriad of life forms which interact to recycle nutrients and energy.
The Year of the Tiger occurs every 12 years in the Chinese calendar;
shall we still see tigers in the wild in the year 2010? There is no reason
why we shouldn't, if governments and people work together to conserve
the remaining habitat and protect the tiger and its prey from illegal
killing.
So 1998 must be our Year for the Tiger, when we pledge to do all we
can to ensure that our children and grandchildren can enjoy the
presence of this mighty symbol of all that is wild on our Earth.
Peter Jackson
Chairman
Cat Specialist Group
IUCN - The World Conservation Union, Switzerland1.