Tiger trouble
The Royal Bengal Tiger is the symbol of conservation efforts in India. Launched in 1973, Project Tiger was initiated with much fanfare, but after its initial success, things went astray. The tiger population had dwindled to an alarmingly low 1,827. In the late 19805 and early 19905, the tiger population again showed a decline, government figures showing a decrease of 553 between 1989 and 1993, the unofficial figure being much higher. At present, the official figure is 3,750. The whole 'Project Tiger approach' has been called into question. The reason behind this decline is poaching and illegal international trade in tiger bones and teeth. Till a few years back, the main demand was for tiger skin. The first evidence that tiger was being poached for its bones to make traditional Chinese medicines emerged in the 19805. These medicines were being consumed not only in China but in many countries in south and east Asia. The economic' Asian Tigers'- Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, 5outh Korea and Thailand -with much higher per capita income than ever before, were literally consuming the real tiger. The Environmental Investigation Agency reports that as many as 21.6 million capsules of tiger derivatives could have been imported in 1993 by Japan from China alone. 5ince tiger populations in most other parts of Asia have been reduced to extinction, the Indian tiger became the main source of supply for Chinese medicines.