Save the Bengal Tigers Petition

The Bengal Tiger is one of the most iconic and beautiful animals in the whole world. They represent the elite predator class within their natural forest environment in India. However, these big cats are currently on the brink of extinction, due to illegal hunting and habitat destruction. We cannot afford to let this happen, because these tigers are too important to our world. They help keep the Indian food chain and ecosystem in check, their habitat and presence in zoos help benefit humans, and their tremendous cultural and historical significance as an iconic symbol of India, cannot be overlooked.

The Bengal Tiger of India is one of the most iconic animals in the world. What most people don’t know however, is how important of a role the tiger plays in the Indian forest food chain, and ecosystem. Tigers are the top predator in India and reside at the apex of the food chain. These cunning predators  “keep the population of wild ungulates in check, thereby maintaining the balance between prey herbivores and the vegetation upon which they feed.” (WWF, 1). This is the incredibly important role that the tigers plays. If the tigers were to vanish, all of the ungulates would start to take over all of the land, eating all of the good vegetation. This would lead to problems for other smaller animals that are herbivores too, but aren’t big enough to compete with these larger animals. This would cause a large chain reaction, and possibly cause several species to become extinct or endangered. Because of this fact, the presence of tigers in an ecosystem can be an indicator of its wellbeing. This is true anywhere around the world. If the top predator is removed from the ecosystem, than the entire food chain is thrown out of balance. Prey animals start to dominate and other animals are forced to relocate, destroying the the delicate ecosystem that once existed. It is for this reason that saving the Bengal Tiger is the most important, because if you lose them, than many other animals will follow, and possibly the entire ecosystem.

Another reason that tigers are so important is that they actually help humans. For one, their presence in zoos helps to attract hordes of people from around the world to come and see them. This helps to increase local tourism and bring in good money for a country’s government. Tiger habitat is also very beneficial to humans. Their “beneficial ecosystem maintains water balance, pollination services, protection from natural disasters, and bioprospecting.” (Why Bengal Tigers Matter, 1). Due to the fact that tiger habitat benefits humans in so many ways, it would be a horrible mistake to destroy any more of it. This would not only continue to hurt tiger populations, but also hurt us. If there is no tiger habitat left, where will the humans get good water from? Without any large trees, not as much oxygen will be produced, making the air pollution worse than it already is. These forests also offer great protection for humans, from things like natural disasters, as stated in the quote. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, if the tiger forests are all destroyed, we will lose many trees and plants that could have helped us. A lot of trees and plants are used today to help make modern drugs, which help humans recover from illnesses. If we cut down all of these plants, then we are potentially losing out on something that could have helped save human lives. If we lose tigers, we will undoubtedly lose their habitat as well. This is a risk we cannot afford to take, especially since both of them things offer up so many advantages for humans.

The final reason that we must save the tigers, is that they are an iconic symbol within our world. They represent the largest cat in the world, and also one of the most dangerous predators on Earth. Tigers have a lot of cultural and historical significance as well. “Tiger images emblazon temples throughout Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Thailand and Tibet.” (Why Tigers Matter, 1). These animals have a huge cultural significance on the native peoples within these lands, who regard the tiger with a sense of reverence and incorporate it into religious faiths. In fact, every twelfth year on the Chinese Calendar has been dedicated to the tiger, due to its symbolic importance. The tiger is also the national animal of the country of India. This is ironic however, because many tigers in India are now illegally hunted for money. It would seem that nowadays, people view tigers as a source of profit, rather than as the incredible creatures they are. In fact, there are actually “tiger economies” in Asia, which profit solely from selling tiger carcasses on the black market. While this is a tragic problem, it is certainly not too late to save tigers, we just need to step in and start to do something about it. Otherwise, the most iconic predator in the world that we all know and respect, will be gone forever.

The Bengal Tiger is one of the most important animals to have in an ecosystem. Their all important role of maintaining balance within their home is too great to overlook. Their positive impact on humans is yet another factor that should lead us to take action to save these animals. We must start to treat them and their habitat with more respect, not taking any more land from them, just for our own development. If we can do this and halt the illegal hunting of tigers, then we will be one step closer to maintaining their existence forever on this Earth.

Works Cited Page

“Why Should We Save Tigers?” WWF,

www.wwfindia.org/about_wwf/priority_species/bengal_tiger/why_save_the_tigers/

“Why They Matter.” SAVE THE BENGAL TIGERS,

savebengaltigerss.weebly.com/why-they-matter.html.

Why Tigers Matter, www.ecotourismhub.com/why-tigers-matter.html