There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
Hypothetical question: What would happen if there were as many tigers as humans on Earth ? (around 7,9 billion) Would we live in peaceful coexistence? Maybe the biggest challenge would be for the smaller animals but I guess there would be some economic costs as well. What do you think? Let's say tomorrow morning there suddenly were 7,9 billion tigers on Earth.
Assuming they were all dropped in at once, we can expect many many tigers to die firstly. Tiger's cannot live in the same density as humans, nor can they live in such a range of habitats. So in the end the vast majority would die fighting each other, and not having access to resources until an equilibrium is reached, as well as local tiger extinctions in antarctica for example (or humans do all the killing). In the mean time it would be incredibly chaotic of course, and it would take ecosystems a while to recover, but given enough time everything would settle down, possibly ending in tigers colonising land they hadn't been able to access prior (south american rainforests, boreal forests of north america, and possibly some less dense central african jungle). We would expect some endemic species to go extinct, such as kiwi's in New Zealand and other island creatures, as well as some mainland ones no doubt. It may limit deforestation though, who has the guts to cut down trees in a tiger infested jungle?
(02-16-2022, 07:04 AM)wtragopan Wrote: Another hypothetical question.
Would tiger population increase if the human population on earth get dropped to say 1 billion?
Depends where. If we're assuming that every population is cut down proportionally, then yes. There would be less people in south east asia and subsequently more territory for tigers to expand into.
What would happen if there were as many tigers as humans on Earth?
