Pick up a copy of the December issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly to read more about this endangered species of tiger and see below for information on how to ask Bindi your most pressing wildlife questions.
Australia Zoo is doing all it can to save endangered species of tigers, writes Bindi Irwin, and she urges you to do your bit, too.
I am going to introduce you to an animal that is critically endangered and will be extinct by 2020 if we don’t do everything to help. Can you guess which animal? Here’s a clue: it is orange with black stripes and belongs to the cat family. Yes, it’s the tiger.
Here at Australia Zoo in Queensland we are lucky to have three Sumatran tigers and five Bengal tigers. Sadly, both species are on the brink of extinction. Did you know that we have lost three sub-species of tiger in the past 60 years? The Javanese, Balinese and Caspian tigers are gone forever. It is thought that 100 years ago there were more than 100,000 tigers in Asia. Today, fewer than 5000 remain.
We help all tigers, but my favourite is the Sumatran. These beaut tigers are found only on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. They’re the smallest of all the tiger sub-species in the world, with the males weighing about 120kg and the females around 90kg.
It’s believed only 500 Sumatran tigers are left. The terrible news is that 80 per cent of the forests they call home have been destroyed, with only the national parks left where they now live. Illegal logging affects not only tigers, but also other species.
Another awful thing is poaching and the black market trade. The tigers are being killed to be used in traditional medicines and as souvenirs. Please, if you ever see animal products for sale, don’t buy them because this helps the illegal trade to keep killing. And tell the store you are upset and can’t shop there until they remove the products. Remember, when the buying stops, the killing will, too. Tigers are also killed when they are forced to go into villages looking for food because of logging, poaching and the tigers’ natural prey being poached. The villagers don’t like this, so they kill the tigers.
Australia Zoo is helping the people of Sumatra and the tigers. Money has been invested in the construction of a base for tiger protection. Zoo staff help to train people in the field, to set up anti-poaching patrols and to educate villagers on environmental protection. My dad also developed a cage to help tigers caught in poachers’ snares – the tiger is tranquillised and then relocated to a safer place.
Facts about Tigers
1- All tigers have white spots on the back of their ears, called eye spots or predator spots. These act as false eyes to protect them from predators approaching from behind.
4- Tigers have stiff whiskers. These whiskers help them walk in the forest at night. If their whiskers can fit through, their whole body can.
3- A tiger’s strength is amazing. They can drag their heavy prey for kilometres to hide it from other animals. Our keepers play with the tigers every day and teach them to be careful not to hurt us fragile human beings.
Bindi’s television show, Bindi: The Jungle Girl, screens on ABC TV on Wednesdays at 4.05pm.
Got a question for Bindi? Post it to Ask Bindi, The Australian Women’s Weekly, GPO Box 4178, Sydney, NSW 2001 or email [email protected].
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