To add to the tiger's problems, large areas of forest are disappearing in Malaysia while in Thailand tiger habitat is becoming increasingly fragmented by roads, dams and human settlements, which decreases the area of the forest and reduction in the number of tiger's natural prey, this forces the tigers to get out of the deep forest in search of food and in that search they attack humans and get killed as humans try to save themselves (Wood 2).
Nearly every part of a tiger has a prescribed benefit according to the tenets of Chinese medicine and folklore. The eyeballs are used to treat epilepsy (neurological disorders); the tail for various skin diseases; the bile for convulsions in children; whiskers for toothaches; and the brain for laziness and pimples. Tiger bone is most commonly used to treat rheumatism (painful disorder of the joints or muscles or connective tissues), but other uses are to reduce weakness, stiffness or paralysis. Tiger fat is used to treat leprosy. (Mildly contagious disease of tropical and subtropical regions like bones and skin). (Mills 2).
Why should we save endangered species like tigers? Tigers are also wonderful natural laboratories to observe and from which we can learn. The tiger forests are our last links to a natural world from which we came, a rich source of education. They are an irreplaceable library of nature for generations to come, and advocating their destruction in the name of progress or temporary local benefits, is akin to burning down an ancient library. More importantly, as the earth's mineral resources are getting exhausted rapidly, the needs of food, fibers, shelter, fuels and life-saving chemicals needed by an expanding population seeking better lifestyles will increasingly depend on biotechnology. However, so far, scientists have explored only a tiny fraction of the rich forest, which is literally a treasure house of potential life supporting products.
