Hobbies And Interests
Threats to the Siberian Tiger
Threats to the survival of the Siberian tiger include poaching, deforestation and pollution of the tiger's habitat. Many traditional Asian medicines and aphrodisiacs include Siberian tiger parts as ingredients. Poachers can earn as much for a single Siberian tiger as a park ranger charged with protecting the tigers would earn in an entire century. When forests are destroyed by fire or other means, the creatures that live in the forest are either killed or forced out. Since the tigers depend on forest creatures such as the elk or boar for their food, the destruction of the forest means the destruction of their food source.
Sources of Pollution
Russia faces significant problems due to pollution of the environment. So many areas have been declared environmental disasters that they now make up 16 percent of the land mass of the entire country. Three out of every four lakes and rivers are so polluted that they are no longer drinkable. Sources of pollution include radiation from plants that produce plutonium for military uses, radiation from old and poorly maintained nuclear power facilities and fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Tigers can either be poisoned by drinking the affected water or by eating animals that have done so.
Legal Efforts
Russian environmentalists have made efforts to protect the Siberian tiger for many years. The Soviet government made it illegal to hunt the Siberian tiger in 1947, but poaching has continued. Environmentalists fought for laws restricting pollution and protecting the air and water quality, but these were often resisted by business interests and the Russian government was not consistent in applying the laws that did exist. These laws were not specifically written to protect the tiger, but if they had been applied consistently they would have helped reduce one of the threats to the tiger's survival.
Dumping of Waste
The United States and other nations have made arrangements with Russia for the disposal of toxic waste, including both chemical and nuclear pollutants. This benefits the countries that create the toxins, because they don't have to pay to recycle them or find a place to dispose of them in their own territory. It benefits the Russian government because it generates revenue. However, the disposal of chemical and nuclear waste for other countries is only likely to add to the pollution of the tiger's habitat and increase the pressure on the remaining wild tiger population.