Over the past 500 years, hundreds animals’ species have become extinct – they have disappeared from Earth for ever. In many cases this is because the animals have been haunted by humans, or the areas where they lived have been destroyed. Some creatures become extinct in the wild but have survived in artificial settings, such as zoos. If they can be successfully bred, they may be taken back to the wild. Przewalski’s horse, for example, became extinct in the wild but has since been bred in captivity. Now there are herds of these wild horses in their old home around the Gobi Desert. Other species are defined as “threatened” or in danger of becoming extinct. According to the degree of threat they may be considered “critically endangered”, “endangered” or “vulnerable”.

Some very familiar animals are under threat of extinction. They include the gorilla, African elephants, the black rhino, the giant panda, and many species of whale, such as the blue, right and fin whale.

Tigers are also in a serious danger. A century ago there were more than 100,000 tigers in the wild. Of the eight-known subspecies of tiger, three – the Bali, Caspian and Javan – are already extinct. There are now fewer than 7,500 tigers left in the wild because their habitats have been destroyed and they have been illegally hunted for their bones and other parts used in traditional Chinese medicines. Numbers of the Amur or Siberian, the largest tiger, have fallen to 360-406 in the wild, with fewer than 490 in the wildlife parks and zoos. The Sumatran tiger is down to about 400 with 210 in captivity. The Bengal, including the rare white tiger, numbers 3,159 – 4,715, with 333 in zoos, and there are only 1,227 – 1,785 of the Indochinese, with 60 in zoos. Rarest of all is the South China Tiger. Its population is down to only 20 – 30 in the wild and 47 in zoos.

We should learn to protect Tigers and prevent them from being extinct. All the living organism are connected in a cycle. If the tigers get extinct then the eco-system will get disturbed