Tiger Woods’s career and relationship with his wife may be in danger, but the original tiger is seriously endangered.

On Friday, Tiger Woods will make a public apology for his recent behavior. The apology will mark his first public appearance since November 27, when he crashed his car outside his Orlando, FL home. While the multiple-award winning athlete has lost some sponsors, and has a marriage that is now in danger, there is a different tiger - the original - that is even more endangered.

The purpose of this tribute is to shed some light on the crisis that has befallen the tiger in recent years. They are now an endangered species, and they require our help now more than ever.

Photo by ianduffy via Flickr

I’m not sure which of two childhood events triggered the attraction to tigers, but I think it was my first Karate tournament. On my first place plaque* was depicted a picture of a tiger facing a dragon, the two entangled in a fierce battle. In Chinese mythology, the dragon is the strongest creature there is, whose domain is the sky. The tiger is the strongest creature on land, thus their battle is an epic one. It was the pay-per-view event of the time.** This plaque proved to me that tigers are obviously a match for dragons, and thus they are awesome.

The epic battle (photo by Sadahide, from Fuji Arts)

The second memory I have is one that more people should be able to relate to: “Rocky IV.” I love this movie. It was one of the very first ones that I purchased with my own money, and even got the soundtrack to go with it. I memorized that soundtrack from start to end. I had two favorites on the album: the song “War,” during which the Italian Stallion is fighting the hulking Ivan Drago, and of course “Eye of the Tiger.” This song would pump me up a LOT as a kid, probably too much for my folks’ sake; I didn’t always keep my training montages to my bedroom. Regardless, this song cemented a personal interest in the majestic cat.

The eye of a tiger (photo by Luke Robinson via Flickr)

Unfortunately, these incredible creatures are in a dire situation. There are only an estimated 3,200 wild tigers left on the planet. The tiger population has dwindled by 95% in the last 100 years. Contributors to this include deforestation, habitat loss due to climate change, and increasing demand for tiger parts. Their skin, bones and body parts are used in traditional Asian medicine, fueling the poaching and trafficking of the endangered creatures. Three of the nine sub-species of tigers are now extinct.

Last year, the WWF released its list of the top ten endangered species that need urgent attention. The tiger was placed at number one, not only because of its dire need for protection and rehabilitation, but because of the symbolic importance of this year as the year of the tiger. The list also includes polar bears, rhinos and pandas. The WWF says that:

“These, and many other species, are at greater risk than ever before because of habitat loss through deforestation, poaching, and climate change-related threats.”

Habitat loss is forcing the tigers into a smaller environment, making them easier targets for poachers. Private tiger farms, which house tigers raised in captivity, are another culprit. Naturally, there are two sides to this story: governments insist that these farms rehabilitate tigers and promote tourism, while conservationists hold that the farms fuel demand for tiger parts and encourage smuggling. Regardless, when you add to the equation increasing deforestation, the fate of the tiger seems gloomy at best, doom-ey at worst.

This video contains images that may be disturbing to some

However, the WWF has a Tiger Network Initiative that launched on Valentine’s Day, which is committed to doubling the tiger population by 2022. In addition, the Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation set aside many new rules in order to bring back the tiger population by 2022. But the missing component was that no new money was set aside to help the tigers. This is where you can help. If you’d like, go to the WWF website, or to the Save the Tiger Fund to help.

One other awesome thing about tigers is that they have 50% role in producing the Liger, a “magical” yet docile creature resulting from breeding with a lion. Probably shouldn’t go in to too much detail here, but here is a picture:

Napoleon’s favorite animal (photo from Fox Searchlight)

Whether or not you are interested in Tiger Woods and his situation - to his credit, it is refreshing to see a superstar name his/her children normal names these days (Sam and Charlie) - let’s show tigers around the world some love.

“We have a window of opportunity in which to step up and pull back some of the world’s most splendid animals from the brink of extinction. We urge everyone who wants to live in a world with tigers, polar bears, and pandas to make it their New Year’s resolution to help save these amazing and threatened species before it’s too late.”

-Director of WWF Scotland, Dr Richard Dixon

“Risin’ up, back [in] the [forest]
[Had some help, got rehabilitated]
Went the distance, now I’m back on my feet
Just a [tiger] and his will to survive”

-Survivor

*It was an everyone-gets-first-place-tournament. But, I probably would have gotten first, anyway.
**This is the author’s opinion, and should not be taken as fact.