by Michelle Reeves

Created on: November 19, 2009   Last Updated: January 12, 2011

Endangered species habitats all over the world are affected by humans. Polar Bears, Pandas, Grizzly Bears, and the Koala Bear. Amur Leopard, Tiger, Black Cougar, Lion, and Cheetah. Gray Wolf, Emperor Penguin, Great White Shark, Sea Turtle, Sea Horse, and the Manatee. There are many many more on that list. Several different websites have the list of all these endangered species and more. I recommend

endangered species.com and National Fish & Wildlife Foundation as two places to start. There are many organizations today that are helping this cause. One of the leading organizations trying to preserve the habitat for these creatures is the WWF. The WWF, World Wildlife Fund, has 19 main habitats or reserves that they are focusing on, and out of the 19, four are for the tiger.

The scientific name for the tiger is Panthera Tigris. The tiger is the largest cat in the world. Some have gotten 10 foot long, and weigh over 575 lbs. The tiger's presence draws forth a power in his attitude that brings the deepest respect tinged in awe. A tiger's stripes are compared to human finger prints, no two tigers will have the same stripes.

This big cat's habitat is one of the most threatended on the face of the earth. They live in isolated forests stretching from India to Southeast China, and from East Russia to Sumatran, Indonesia. The tigers greatest threats are poaching for trade on the black market. Mainly for chinese medicine and superstitions. Their natural habitat, and the depletion of their food, which consists mainly of dear and wild pigs, are other threats to their existance.

For many years we only knew of eight subspecies of tigers, but in 2004 we found a ninth specie. Located in the Malay peninsula, the southern tip of thailand, and Peninsular Malaysia. We now have the Malayan Tiger. Lost to extinction are the caspian, Javan, and the Bali subspecies. The South China tiger is next on the list. The rest of the surviving subspecies are the Amur or Siberian Tiger, Bengal Tiger, Indo-Chinese Tiger, Malayan Tiger, and the Sumatran Tiger. The Bengal Tiger has the largest number of survivors today.

The white tiger tends to be larger, at birth and as an adult, over the orange tiger. The white gene has been found in several different subspecies, but more common in the Bengal subspecies, also know as the "Royal Bengal" and Indian Tiger. The white tiger is absolutely beautiful, but unfortunately, not many are left out in the wild. We actually have more in captivity than out in the wild.

Many people have taken these big beautiful exotic cats and have tried to make pets of them. there is a local shelter located in Tampa, Florida called Big Cat Rescue. they have saved many exotic wild cats that were abused, abandoned, bred for pets/hybrids, retired from performing acts, or from being killed for their fur. they educate the public about issues facing them in the wild and in captivity. Big Cat Rescue began in 1992. They are a non-profit charity and receive no government help. They give tours of the sanctuary to pay for administration and fund raisers, so that 100% of the donations will go towards supporting the cats. Please support our local Big Cat sancuary, take a tour and enjoy your visit.

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