One hundred years ago, nine different types of tigers - the world's largest cat - roamed throughout Asia. Today, three of those tiger subspecies — the Bali, Javan and Caspian — are extinct. The remaining six tiger subspecies are in danger of becoming extinct largely because of human killing. The tiger is the most endangered of all the large wild cats in the world, with less than 5,000 remaining in the wild. Recently, the Indian government released figures that only 1,400 Bengal tigers live in India when the number was believed to be around 3,000.

Poaching is defined as the illegal hunting and killing of an animal. There are three main reasons tigers are poached.

**Get the June 2008 issue of CAT FANCY to read the full article.**