Amur Tigers

[smedz]

WHY THE AMUR TIGER MUST BE PROTECTED 

BY SMEDZ 

         The Russian Far East, a land of freezing temperatures, and astounding beauty, is also a land of mighty hunters. They include the Eurasian Lynx, which uses its amazing stealth to lay in ambush, and can kill an animal up to 4 times its size. The Asiatic Black Bear, not the biggest bear, but is a force to be reckoned with, The Ussuri Brown Bear, or "Black Grizzly" is an incredibly powerful animal, with a large hump of muscle on the shoulders, allowing the bear to be both a great digger with his claws, and inflict damage on rivals with his claws. The Grey Wolf, great pack hunter, as a team, they can even kill a moose. At one time, dholes could be found in the region, but not anymore. Then there's the Amur Leopard, the rarest leopard in the world, but their population is growing. But in the Russian Far East, there is one predator that is feared by many, one that even the bears and wolves have to be wary of, and that animal, is none other than the Amur Tiger, a.k.a Siberian Tiger. At one time, these cats had nothing to fear, until man came with guns, and began killing tigers until the tiger population was very low. Now, the population has grown, but there are still the risks of poaching and habitat loss. Many are willing to protect them, however, there are those who could care less if the tigers went extinct. However, there are very good reasons tigers should be protected. Here is why the Amur Tiger should be saved from extinction. 

1. Vital to the Ecosystem    

         As apex predators, Amur Tigers hunt large prey, which in this case would be Red deer, moose, Roe Deer, Wild Boar, Raccoon Dog, and even bears. By hunting herbivores, the tigers end up controlling the populations of prey animals, and that ensures that all plants aren't devoured. When a top predator is removed from the ecosystem, the herbivores will eat enough vegetations to the point where they end up destroying the ecosystems they live in, so the presence of the tiger is vital to having a healthy ecosystem.   

2. Helpful to Hunters   

   All around the world, you will hear hunters complain about predators killing off "their" game, but in this case, there aren't too many problems between tigers and hunters. Why? the reason is because Amur Tigers have no tolerance for wolves in their territories, and will kill them, or drive them out in order to eliminate the competition. Wolves have higher success rates than tigers do, and are therefore, worse for hunters than tigers are, and conservationists have used this argument against the hunters to convince them not kill tigers, and it actually works. I should also mention that at least some hunting clubs will leave out food for the game, making it easier for the prey to survive, and therefore, easier for the tigers to survive the harsh winter. Amur Tigers will also kill the other predators in the region for the same reasons, therefore, helping hunters and farmers out a bit more. 

3. Good for the Economy   

    Now apparently, there are now tours in Russia to see both tigers and leopards in the wild, there happens to be an entire thread about that here on the forum. With tourism comes money, and obviously that money can be used for conservation efforts, or it could be used to help communities, and this also provides jobs for people. So this is also a good reason to protect tigers throughout Asia.   

4. Beneficial for other rare animals   

      Amur Tigers share their range with other threatened species like the Asiatic Black Bear and the Amur Leopard. By protecting the tiger's habitat, you also end up helping other endangered animals as well.      

5. The weird part   

        Protecting Amur tiger habitat could actually be essential for mitigating climate change. Apparently, the Russian Far Eastern Forests can absorb up to literally 130,000 tons of carbon a year, so protecting tigers also helps in dealing with the climate change issue.    

That, ladies and gentlemen, is why the Amur Tiger must be protected from extinction.

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