Being the country that holds half of the wild tigers globally, India is dubbed as the Tiger Land. It has an estimated tiger population of 2,967 tigers in 2018 that are scattered in the wild forest of national parks, wildlife parks, and tiger reserves.
If you want to learn more about tigers, going on a tour offered by teams, like the Tiger Safari India, is one of the top choices. These teams are well equipped with knowledge and information; you will indeed have a day of a fun and educational tour.
Everyone must know the importance of conserving our tigers. In the past century, we have already lost 97% of the tiger population worldwide, classifying it as endangered in the list of threatened species.
With that in mind, we may lose all the tigers in a few decades, which will wreak havoc to our planet. Here’s what would happen if we lose all the tigers.
It will upset the ecological balance
If we remove a single element from our fragile ecosystem, it will have long-lasting and far-reaching effects on biodiversity. It will have a dreadful impact on other species that share the tiger’s home, habitat, and even local communities.
The tiger is always at the top of the food chain in every ecosystem it lives in. Bearing that in mind, its job is to maintain the population of its prey species. Without the tiger, these species would overpopulate and ravage the vegetation, their food source.
Once they have destroyed the vegetation in the forests, smaller animals and insects would have a hard time thriving. The insects will move to farmlands, damaging the crops, which is our food source. It would have a negative impact on humans.
Other species may go extinct as well
Extinction of one species on the food chain would impact other species negatively as well. Losing the main predator will cause greater competition among the prey species. This brings a significant threat, and the prey species may go extinct too. Many of the species affected by the tigers’ extinction may also be endangered and have been fighting to survive.
With that being said, the tiger’s conservation ensures preserving a more significant number of other plants and animals in the forests.
Loss of jobs
Many people earn from tigers. These are the people employed in the sanctuaries and parks that are working to conserve the tigers. Most of these employees live the world’s most impoverished communities, and the tiger’s extinction will have negative economic effects on these communities.
Think about this, where there are tigers; there are tourists. Many communities around the area could start a business because of the tourists, thus making money. Tiger trails boosted Indian tourism by 230% in 2015.
Local communities, government offices, and NGOs are working hand in hand to develop ecotourism opportunities featuring the tigers. Without these big cats, these businesses will fail, and more people will lose their income.
It would cause climate change
Large tiger populations living in forests act as carbon stores. We will get good reserves by saving more tigers. However, if the tigers go extinct, the forests they are protecting as their homes would be ravaged by illegal loggers, converting it to agriculture and development. It would cause higher carbon dioxide emissions, hence, climate change.
Deforestation is one of the leading contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming and climate change.
Tigers are not just another wild animal species living in the forests. Tigers are feared, admired, and respected at the same time by people all around the world. If we don’t take good care of these giant cats, all that will remain are photos, stories, and zoo sightings, if we are still lucky enough to have a few there. And the only one to blame is us.
We need to keep the tigers safe, not only for the future generations to see them, but also to save our planet from possible devastation due to tiger extinction. This is why tiger educational tours from groups like the Tiger Safari in India are essential. Not only are they protecting the tigers, but they are also educating everyone about the importance of these majestic giant cats.
Moreover, you also have to remember that by saving the tigers, we are also protecting ourselves. Let’s put it this way: the tiger goes extinct; we go extinct as well. So, we have to do not only our best but everything to keep the tigers in the face of this planet.
