A century ago there were 100000 tigers roaming the forests, swamps, and tundra of Asia. TODAY, there are as few as 3200 left in the wild. Only 7% of historic tiger habitat still contains tigers. At this rate, wild tigers will be extinct in just a few decades. Consumer demand for tiger parts poses the largest threat to tiger survival. Tigers are being hunted to extinction by poachers for their skins, bones, teeth and claws, which are highly valued for their use in traditional Asian medicine (TAM), various folk remedies and various products. The wildlife trade network, TRAFFIC, found that for the past two years, the smuggled parts from at least 200 tigers have been confiscated per year by law enforcement in Asia. In the past 10 years, over 1000 tigers have been killed to traffic their parts to meet consumer demand in Asia. Tiger bones have been used in TAM for a wide variety of ailments for more than 1000 years. In 1993 the Chinese government banned the trade and use of tiger parts, but cultural belief in the power of tiger parts remains. Parts from a single tiger can fetch as much as $50000 on the black market, making the poaching of these magnificent creatures very alluring to criminal networks. Claws, teeth and whiskers are believed to provide good luck and protective powers. And tiger skins and tiger bone wine are valued as status symbols. Despite the fact that all international commercial trade of tigers has been banned since 1987, some countries allow the breeding of ...