Monday, September 19, 2011

Cambodian Cattle May Signal Hopes for Tigers





Extinction of tigers has been a major issue that has been rarely addressed in the past few years. There are less than 2000 tigers left in the world and no more than 5 are alive in the eastern plains. Conservation group, World Wildlife,  has found out that there have been large populations of banteng spotted roaming around in eastern Cambodia. This could mean this area of Cambodia could be a possible place for tigers to repopulate and steadily grow in number. The near extinction of tigers mainly occurred due to low levels of prey for tigers and increased hunting sprees for these rare animals. But thanks to the banteng, the tigers now have hope for a sustainable prey to hunt. Unfortunately, there is another obstacle standing in the way of tigers repopulating. There are talks of many projects being built on the grounds where the banteng live. There are about 2,700 to 5,700 banteng living in the eastern Cambodian area and if their population is wiped out, the tigers have little chance of surviving. Eastern Cambodia is one of the best places for tiger populations to recover and if the banteng, who are also declining in number, are gone, then the tigers are most likely going to become extinct very quickly.
My view:
The WWF has said, "In recent years, the forests in the eastern plains, and across the rest of the country, have become increasingly at risk from large-scale land concessions." With this statement, it is very clear that immediate action must be done to preserve this land in order to help in efforts of saving the tiger. It seems like money is playing a key role here, with these companies trying to clear out land in order to situate their businesses on it. As a company, it is important to take into account how your business decisions might affect the habitats and environment around you. 



                                           
http://news.yahoo.com/cambodian-cattle-herds-offer-hope-tiger-wwf-151225007.html

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