# @natgeo on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CbnFWr3s7O8
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/11681033-natgeo-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/d0ae703a85.jpg
- **Posted:** 2022-03-27T14:30:21.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** National Geographic (@NatGeo) — https://gondola.cc/NatGeo

## Caption

Photo by stevewinterphoto | Fewer than 5,000 tigers remain in the wild. Poaching is an ongoing threat, driven by the global demand for tiger parts: skins are used as luxury decor, bones soaked in liquor are made into tiger bone wine, and all parts of the tiger are consumed as medicinal products. 

Although tigers are endangered in the wild, they live in high numbers in captivity. Most are bred for entertainment or commercially farmed for their parts. Tiger farms in China, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam hold thousands, raised mainly for consumption. Though an international treaty prohibits breeding tigers in captivity for the purpose of trade, tiger parts sourced from captive-bred tigers have been regularly seized in countries with tiger farms. 

Research on tiger trafficking patterns has focused on countries in Asia, where tigers live in the wild. Meanwhile, the United States is the world’s second largest consumer of wildlife products. In the U.S., tigers are listed as endangered, and the Endangered Species Act prohibits importing, exporting, or selling endangered species except for scientific purposes or activities that enhance the survival of the species. In a new study published in Conservation Science and Practice, researchers investigate how the U.S. has been connected to the global tiger trade.

This image was taken at the now defunct cub-petting venue Ringling Animal Care Center in Oklahoma. These three cats came from the tiger trader known as Joe Exotic and were cast off once they were too big to pet. They were rescued by Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas. Follow me for more. #wildlifecrime #conservation #tiger #yearofthetiger

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## Tags

tiger, conservation, wildlifecrime, yearofthetiger

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