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The Siberian Tiger is Endangered

Jonathan Y. (rising 4th grader)

The Siberian tiger is endangered from habitat loss, lack of food, and poaching. Although some may think tigers are a way to earn money, Siberian tigers need to be saved from habitat loss, lack of food, and poaching because Siberian tigers are beautiful and strong creatures. The Siberian tiger’s scientific name is Panthera tigris altaica. The Siberian tiger thrives in the mountains of eastern Russia, these cats are the biggest cats of all cats. They also live in India, China, and North Korea. There are currently only about 500 left in the wild. The biggest reason why this tiger is endangered is habitat loss. People cut the trees and replace them with cement. The tiger has less food and more people, forcing the tigers to move away. Humans begin to take over Siberian Tigers' rightful habitat, spreading urbanization in wildlife. This forces Siberian Tigers to move away to a place with less prey for food. Siberian Tigers mostly live in India, but humans living there increased by 50% in 20 years. Another place where Siberian Tigers live is in China, where, in four decades, the human population has doubled. More people means more cities and urban areas. This causes deforestation in order to build or construct new roads, buildings, towns, etc. drives Siberian Tiger away from their land. Poaching is another way Siberian tigers get endangered. People kill Siberian Tigers for money, food and use the other body parts for medicine. Siberian tigers are illegally captured and killed because of their skin, teeth, whiskers, and bones. Poachers use poisoned food of a Tiger's prey to kill them. They also put poison in ponds and wait until the tiger drinks. Eventually, the tiger dies. Also they put metal traps on the bottom of the forest, and if the Siberian tiger steps on it, they will die. Some people use guns to kill the tiger; if the bullet hits the tiger fast enough, the tiger will die. In Korea, the Korean pine trees are being cut down. They provide nuts to the Siberian tiger’s prey, such as bears, rabbits, and deer. If the animals are not there anymore, the tigers will have to move away from where there is less prey. If that place runs out of food, they will have to move again and so on. If the animals go extinct, the Siberian tiger will turn on domesticated animals in farms such as cows, pigs, and horses. If the owner sees the tiger, he or she will think that the tiger wants to kill him or her and their cattle, so they will decide to attack the Siberian tiger with a lethal gun.

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