Dangerous species of the word

Tiger

India is home to the world's largest population of tigers in the wild. [86] According to the World
Wildlife Fund, of the 3,500 tigers around the world, 1,400 are found in India. Only 11 percent of
original Indian tiger habitat remains, and it is becoming significantly fragmented and often
degraded.[87] [88]

A major concerted conservation effort, known as Project Tiger, has been underway since 1973,
initially spearheaded by Indira Gandhi. The fundamental accomplishment has been the
establishment of over 25 well-monitored tiger reserves in reclaimed land where human
development is categorically forbidden. The program has been credited with tripling the number of
wild Bengal tigers from roughly 1,200 in 1973 to over 3,500 in the 1990s. However, a tiger census
carried out in 2007, whose report was published on February 12, 2008, stated that the wild tiger
population in India declined by 60% to approximately 1,411. [89] It is noted in the report that the
decrease of tiger population can be attributed directly to poaching. [90]

Following the release of the report, the Indian government pledged $153 million to further fund the
Project Tiger initiative, set-up a Tiger Protection Force to combat poachers, and fund the
relocation of up to 200,000 villagers to minimise human-tiger interaction. [91] Additionally, eight new
tiger reserves in India are being set up.[92] Indian officials successfully started a project to
reintroduce the tigers into the Sariska Tiger Reserve.[93] The Ranthambore National Park is often
cited as a major success by Indian officials against poaching. [94]

Tigers Forever is a collaboration between the Wildlife Conservation Society and Panthera
Corporation to serve as both a science-based action plan and a business model to ensure that
tigers live in the wild forever. Initial field sites of Tigers Forever include the world’s largest tiger
reserve, the 21,756 km2 Hukaung Valley in Myanmar, the Western Ghats in India, Thailand’s Huai
Khai Khaeng-Thung Yai protected areas, and other sites in Laos PDR, Cambodia, the Russian Far
East and China covering approximately 260,000 km2 of critical tiger habitat. [95] [96]
 Lion

The Gir Forest National Park of western India has about 411 lions (as of April 2010) which live in a
1,412 km² (558 square miles) sanctuary covered with scrub and open deciduous forest habitats.
The population in 1907 was believed to consist of only 13 lions when the Nawab of Junagadh
gave them complete protection. This figure however is highly controversial because the first
census of lions in the Gir that was conducted in 1936 yielded a result of 234 animals.

Until about 150 to 200 years ago, the Bengal Tiger, along with the Indian leopard, shared most of
their habitat, where the Asiatic Lion was found in large parts of west and central India along with
the Asiatic Cheetah, now locally extinct in India. However, Asiatic Cheetahs preferred open
grasslands, and the Asiatic Lions preferred open forests interspersed with grasslands, which is
also home to tigers and leopards. At one time, the Bengal Tiger and Asiatic lion might have
competed with each other for food and territory.

These Indian big cats lost most of their open jungle and grassland habitat in India to the rising
human population which almost completely converted their entire habitat in the plains of India into
farmland. They frequently became targets of local and British colonial hunters.

Lions are poisoned for attacking livestock. [15] Some of the other major threats include floods, fires
and epidemics. Their restricted range makes them especially vulnerable.

Nearly 15,000 to 20,000 open wells dug by farmers in the area for irrigation have also acted as
traps, which led to many lions drowning.[citation needed] To counteract the problem, suggestions for
walls around the wells, as well as, the use of "Drilled Tube wells" have been made.

Farmers on the periphery of the Gir Forest frequently use crude and illegal electrical fences by
powering them with high voltage overhead power lines. These are usually intended to protect their
crops from Nilgai but lions and other wildlife are also killed.

Habitat decline in the Gir Forest may also be contributed by the presence of nomadic heardsmen
known as Maldharis. These communities are vegetarian and do not indulge in poaching, but with
an average of 50 cattle (mainly "Gir Cow") per family, overgrazing is a concern. [15] The habitat
destruction by the cattle and the firewood requirements of the populace reduces the natural prey
base and endangers the lions. The lions are in turn forced by the lack of natural prey to shift to kill
cattle and in turn, are targeted by people. Many Maldharis have been relocated outside the park
by the forestry to allow the lions a more natural surrounding and more natural prey
 Cheetah

Cheetahs are super fast land animals, in fact they are even faster than some supercars, and can
accelerate from 0 to 110 km/h (68 mph) in three seconds, reaching speeds between 112 and 120
km/h (70 and 75 mph). Cheetahs may be fast but still not fast enough to avoid the tremendous
decline in population that is lately threatening their survival.

Cheetahs are included on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list of
vulnerable species (African subspecies threatened, Asiatic subspecies in critical situation) as well
as on the US Endangered Species Act: threatened species. Today there are just 12,400 cheetahs
remaining in the wild, and the biggest population is currently located in Namibia with about 2,500
individuals. Asiatic subspecies is critically endangered counting only fifty to sixty individuals that
still have their habitats in Iran.

There are many reasons why cheetahs are endangered and the most important are definitely:
decline in prey, loss of habitat, poaching, and high mortality of cheetah cubs. Cheetahs once lived
in almost all African countries and in large parts of the Asia but today they are almost extinct in
Asia, and the number of African countries where once cheetahs lived has increased to 16.

Cheetahs, the excellent hunters they are, require open plains to hunt, and habitat loss is probably
the biggest reason for big decline in their population. Many cheetah cubs fail to reach adult age
because of genetic factors and predation by carnivores in competition with the cheetah, such as
the lion and hyena. Cheetahs are often in conflict with farmers because they attack livestock which
usually ends in being shot by the angry farmers.

As you can see there are many reasons why cheetahs are endangered, and current conservation
efforts are still not enough to help recovery in population of these majestic animals. There have
been successful breeding programs that gave hope but without protected areas where they can
freely hunt cheetahs could be in real trouble.
 Leopard

The leopard can be found in all of sub-Saharan Africa and west of the Kalahari Desert, and it is
also found in the Middle East (Iran, Pakistan) and Asia (China, India, Indonesia, and Nepal). Since
the leopard has such a wide range, there are probably over 30 subspecies of leopard. The size
and weight of an adult leopard varies according to subspecies. The adult body length ranges from
3.4 feet to 6.6 feet and its body weight ranges from 65 to 155 lb. Females are generally smaller
than males. Leopard coat colors also vary according to subspecies from light brown to a deep
rusty yellow. All leopard coats are covered with rosettes and have lighter underparts. Some
leopards can also have full black-colored coats, still containing rosettes that are dark brown and
black in color.

The leopard is very adaptable and can be found in almost any habitat in its range, from rain forests
to excessively dry deserts. Most of their time is spent in the trees to avoid other carnivorous
mammals in the area such as lions and hyenas. The leopard also prefers to stalk its prey from the
trees. Leopards eat monkeys, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish, wild pigs, and gazelles.
They are opportunistic hunters and will eat just about anything that is available. After stalking and
killing its prey, the leopard drags it up into the tree to prevent other predators from stealing the kill.
Except when breeding, leopards prefer a solitary and secretive life and they are active mostly at
night. Breeding can occur year round and females give birth to two to three cubs after a 3-month
gestation period. Females may only give birth to cubs once every two years.

Leopard hunting for its fur was once very popular causing a significant decline in the 1960s and
70s. Today threats to the species include trapping and poisoning by farmers who consider the
leopard a nuisance to their livestock, habitat loss, commercial hunting, and decline in prey
populations. Although listed and protected, the leopard is actually doing well in the wild with the
latest population estimated at over 500,000 worldwide.
 PUMA

Pumas are also called cougars, panthers, or mountain lions. That's right, they're all the same
animal. Only the jaguar is larger than the cougar in the Western Hemisphere.

Other than humans, pumas are the most widely distributed land mammal in the Western
Hemisphere. Pumas range from northwestern Canada to southern Chile in South America.

Like other large cats, pumas can Inhabit a variety of ecosystems. They are just as comfortable in
the dry deserts as they are in the lush tropical rainforests.

Adult males can grow to be up to 9 feet long (including their tail). Female pumas are a bit smaller,
but can still reach lengths of 7 feet. Male cougars weigh approximately 150-230 pounds, while the
females 80-130 pounds.

Since pumas are such large cats (the only cat larger in Costa Rica is the Jaguar), they need to eat
a lot. Pumas choose to hunt during the night time, and they eat just about anything that they come
across. They prey on a wide range of large and small mammals including deer and other hoofed
animals, raccoon, rabbits and rodents, birds and invertebrates.

Pumas require large areas to hunt. An individual puma has a set area where other pumas won't
enter. A male puma's range could be over 200 square miles. Therefore, pumas are greatly
affected by habitat destruction.

All over the world, pumas are endangered species. Their furs have been hunted for centuries, and
often they compete for the same food sources that humans do. Farmers and livestock ranchers
often kill pumas, because the puma threatens the farmer's animals.

The removal of pumas, however, has a negative effect on the natural cycle of the rainforest.
Where pumas are eliminated, populations of prey animals (such as deer) get too big for the land to
accommodate. As prey numbers increase, vegetation is soon overgrazed. As adequate food
supplies diminish, deer and other prey animals starve at massive levels. At the human level,
animals that were once eaten by pumas and other predators destroy crops. If the world were to
lose the puma it would have impacts all over the world.