Mittwoch, 11. August 2010

Is the Indochinese Tiger Gone from Cambodia?

The Indochinese Tiger, one of the subspecies of the tiger, is feared to be extinct in Cambodia. It hasn't been spotted for three years. There are some areas that it could still be in. Environmental protection in Cambodia started relatively late in comparison to it's neighbor Thailand. Cambodia also faces illegal logging and the introduction of mining to it's economy. In the past, tigers and leopards were numerous. The public generally didn't notice their well being. Nowadays, all subspecies of tigers are facing dangers. In the last 200 years, humans have caused the extinction of 3 subspecies of tigers: the Bali tiger, the Javanese tiger, and the Caspian tiger. The South Chinese tiger is the most critically endangered of all the tigers, but things do not bode well for the Bengal, Siberian, Indochinese, Malay, and Sumatran tigers either.

But why should we care? Here's some reasons:

1. The predatory species is important in an ecosystem. They help maintain population balance.

2. Empathy is a good reason. After all, we are the ones responsible for their death. If it were an act of nature, it would be different.

3. Diversity of life is just one of those good things you want to have.

4. When a species goes extinct, it could very well indicate something else is wrong in an ecosystem. This in turn could impact humans.

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