Poaching and Potions
By the time Quigley first saw Olga, many wildlife experts worried that Siberian tigers were about to become extinct. Their habitat, or home, had almost disappeared.
The big cats once roamed the area from eastern Russia to South Korea but by the early 1900s, overhunting had wiped out most of them. Fewer than fifty were left!
By 1947 laws were passed to protect the tigers. The laws have helped a little, but Olga and other tigers still face serious threats.
Some people in Asia believe that tiger parts can be used to improve health. Almost every body part is used to make some kind of potion. Brains, tails, and whiskers, for instance, are used to treat everything from pimples to toothaches to paralysis.
Poachers, people who hunt illegally, can make $15,000 from selling just one dead tiger. That’s more money than most Asian families make in several years.
Siberian Tigers’ Habitat: Then and Now
Interpret the Map How has the location of Siberian tigers changed over the last 100 years?
Where Siberian tigers live today
Where Siberian tigers lived 100 years ago
Large numbers of trees in the Russian taiga forest are being cut down to make timber. This is destroying tiger habitat.