Meg+&+Emily


 * Sumatran Tiger **


 * Where in Indonesia can this animal be found? **
 * By Emily **


 * In the wild, the only place in the world that the Sumatran Tiger can be found is on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. The 400-500 Sumatran tigers remaining in the wild make up approximately 12% of the worlds tiger population. These 400 individuals can be found in Sumatra's five National Parks where they are protected but allowed to live in their natural environment. However, some of these tigers live in unprotected areas of Sumatra making them incredibly vulnerable to poaching, habitat loss and other possible threats. The Sumatran tiger can also be found in a number of zoos all over the world to assist with conservation and breeding programs to help save this tiger sub-species from extinction like many of its other relatives such as the ****Bali **** and ****Javan ****tiger. **

The Sumatran tiger can be found on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia.


 * Some of the problems being faced by the Sumatran tiger in this area. By Meg **


 * The one the many problems for Sumatran tigers is deforestation and explains a lot about why they are becoming extinct. Deforestation has been occurring in Indonesian around 10 years now and is taking its toll on Sumatran tigers. Even though the Indonesian Forest Ministry are trying to handle this situation by developing conservation programs these tigers still have the issue of illegal logging for the paper industry and palm oil. The people of Indonesia rely very heavily on their palm oil industry to survive however the forest clearing required to keep it going is impacting on the natural environment and habitats of many creatures unique to Indonesia's forests. Only one third of the Sumatran tiger's habitat is protected by law from deforestation and logging. This logging is very quickly making its impact on the forests of Sumatra. Not only is the reduction of the tigers habitats is forcing them to live closer to Sumtran villages, it is forcing them to source their prey elsewhere, such as in the villages because the animals that the Sumatran tiger hunts are dying off as they do not have enough to eat either or a place to live. This has caused many unnecessary tiger deaths as the humans living in the villages are killing any Sumatran tigers **** that 'get too close' because the humans are afraid of them. **

Map of Sumatra's forest area since 1990-2008/9 ==Another issue that the Sumatran tiger is battling with for survival is poaching. Although some Sumatran tigers are killed for being too close to humans due to habitat loss, many are being hunted down and killed by poachers for money. The skin, bones, and body parts of the Sumatran tiger are worth a lot of money to some people and the increasing rareness of the creature makes its anatomy even more valuable. The bones of the tiger can be ground up and used in traditional Asian medicine to treat severe bone diseases in humans. The skin is in high demand in countries right throughout parts of Asia and they are worth a lot of money. It is believed that the skin of the tiger contains magic so tiger skin is a huge market in Asia. The poaching of the Sumatran tiger and any other animal is illegal and comes with heavy fines and jail time but this doesn't seem to stop many of the world's greedy people, inflicting harm on animals for their own personal gain. ==



This is an excellent link about the use of tigers: Tiger Uses


 * The environment in which the sumatran tiger lives. **
 * By Meg and Emily **

= =
 * The sumatran tiger obviously lives in the wild of Sumatra in Indonesia. These tigers live in lowland forests, tropical forests and mountain forests.They usually live around dense bush as this is where they can blend in with their surroundings well to sneak up on their prey. Many Sumatran tigers also live in zoos around the world and also in reserves that are set up to help with breeding, seeing that the population of the Sumatran tiger is rapidly dropping with only 400-500 tigers living in the wild at Sumatra. The Gunung Leuser national park which is located in North Sumatra has the largest number of sumatran tigers inhabited in it with a total of 110 tigers living there. The land in sumatra has also had a lot agricultural growth which which has increased the human population a great deal.The bad news about these Sumatran tigers is that there are many that live in unprotected habitats and these areas will be lost to agriculture. **





CHIPP


 * There are other factors that can influence the endangerment of animals all over the world. The two main ones that affect the Sumatran tiger are habitat loss and poaching. Each of these factors somehow connect with each other. **

C - Climate change


 * Climate change is a a rapidly growing problem to our living world but it is a major complication especially for animals of all species. Climate change is currently occurring due to the carbon pollutions that are been produced by humans expanding. The effects of climate change are higher sea levels, the ocean temperatures are rising, and snow / ice especially in the Arctics is melting. Climate change is not only effecting many animals habitat but also their behaviour. Luckily this is not effecting the Sumatran Tiger in any way. **

H - Habitat Loss


 * Many animal species have seen the effects of habitat loss and it can occur in more ways then one. Logging and deforestation are just 2 types of ways that habitats are being destructed and humans are the leading cause of this problem. The reason that us humans deface these habitats is for products such as wood and food but also agricultural reasons and as the human population rises we need more room for cities and towns. As we mentioned earlier the Sumatran Tigers are a big victim of habitat loss after their environment in which the live has undergone deforestation. **

I - Introduced species


 * Throughout colonisation, people brought species of animals into countries like Australia. These animals such as dogs, rabbits, foxes, cats and cane toads. Some animals are pets that turn feral and take over like cats and dogs. The rapid breeding rate of species like rabbits can affect the natural environment and the wildlife in it. Other species take all the food that the native animals require to survive or they eat the native animals which depletes their population and makes them vulnerable to extinction. This is not affecting the Sumatran tiger. **

P - Pollution
 * Pollution is air, water, sound and rubbish that is in any way damaging to the natural environment. This is not directly affecting the Sumatran tiger but it is most likely affecting its prey. Pollution can cause animals to suffocate, be poisoned, die of pollution related diseases and other dreadful things. This is causing a huge drop in animal population numbers all over the world but luckily the Sumatran tiger is not hugely affected by this. **

P - Poaching


 * Poaching is a huge business throughout Africa and Asia. People are killing animals for their skin, bones, teeth and body parts. All these parts can be sold for a huge amount of money in markets all over the world. Poachers don't tend to think about the consequences, all they **** all they care about is the money in their pockets. The more animals they kill, the more money they get and the less of the animal there is to kill. Poaching is driving many species of wildlife to extinction and the Sumatran tiger is highly affected by this. **

@Ebonie & Holly
 * For more information on the Sumatran Tiger checkout this link: **


 * Bibliography **

http://lion_roar.tripod.com/SumatranTiger.html http://ecological-problems.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/why-are-sumatran-tigers-endangered.html http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/tigers/about_tigers/sumatran_tiger/ http://www.honoluluzoo.org/tiger.htm http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/sumatran-tiger-population-at-risk-of-extinction-in-bengkulu/440733 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumatran_tiger#Distribution_and_habitat http://awsassets.wwf.or.id/downloads/wwf_indonesia__2010__sumatran_forests_wildlife_climate_report_for_dkn___bappenas.pdf http://www.fauna-flora.org/species/sumatran-tiger/ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4539423/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/t/another-tiger-species-headed-extinction/#.T93mVVEf8RV