Only 3,000 tigers remain in the wild, compared to 15 in zoos, many of which are purebred tigers of subspecies that are extinct in the wild.This discovery may help preserve the genetic diversity of the noble animal
It turns out that the tigers held in captivity all over the world - in zoos, circuses, and private homes have value for the preservation of the species that is in danger of rapid extinction. This is according to a study published in the April 17 issue of the journal Current Biology. The study uses new methods to assess the genetic origin of tigers and the researchers discovered that many tigers represent extinct subspecies and contain genetic diversity not found in the wild.
The number of tigers in the wild is rapidly decreasing - from ten thousand in the nineties to only 3,000 in 2007, and therefore the captive population can be used as a genetic pool. Now it turns out that tigers are the first animal whose genetic diversity in captivity is greater than in the wild. The first analysis of the genetic diversity of the tigers revealed a higher variation between the tigers in captivity and those in the wild. This firstly indicates the low number of tigers in the wild, but this study also raises the likelihood that it will be possible to maintain the genetic integrity of the species.
Sun-Jin Luo of the Laboratory of Genetic Variation at the Maryland Cancer Institute looked at the genetic makeup of 105 captive tigers in 14 countries to see how many of them were inbred, meaning they weren't hybrids between several subspecies found in the wild. They concluded that up to a quarter of captive tigers could be purebred.
According to him, there are currently between 15 and 20 thousand tigers in zoos, breeding programs, circuses and private homes around the world, 5-7 times more than in the wild. Only a thousand of them are in breeding programs that seek to preserve the genetic diversity of the population in the wild. The rest are from unknown sources or hybrids born as a result of indiscriminate mating of tigers from different subspecies in breeding programs.
Lowe and his colleagues used DNA samples from tigers born to wild parents and created genetic markers that would be used to identify other tigers of the same subspecies. They examined 105 DNA samples collected over 20 years from privately owned tigers or zoos.
They found that 49 of the 105 tigers belonged to one of the five recognized subspecies. Lau commented that it is likely that this figure does not represent the ratio of purebred tigers among the captive tiger population. "Of the tigers we examined, 43 belonged to breeding programs designed to save specific subspecies." explained. Even so, the researchers are encouraged by the number of purebred tigers they found among the 62 tigers that did not belong to the conservation programs. 14 of them were classified as belonging to racial subspecies. "If this is the case for the more than 15 tigers in captivity, it could have an important implication for the conservation of the subspecies," Lowe told New Scientist magazine.
"The justification for keeping wild animals in captivity is in principle that they represent a genetic representation of the population in the wild and this serves as insurance against the extinction of the species in the wild." Reducing the number of interbreedings among captive tigers is essential to preserve this value. Lowe said, adding that the technique he developed for the experiment could be used to identify tiger breeds and expand breeding programs.
The researchers found that the tigers in captivity were also more genetically diverse. Tigers live in the wild in small pockets where the danger of non-breeding is high. Their fellow captives are numerous in number and they reproduce with members of their species from all over the world.
For the abstract of the scientific article in Current Biology
13 תגובות
If for two years they failed to change even the annoying mistake (tiger and tiger) on a scientific website, how do you expect them to succeed in saving the tigers?
It's a real shame that the tiger is the animal that I love, please take care of it
Is it even possible to breed a tiger???
Here, Kobe.
Draw strength, vitality and nobility from here... ("the wisdom of the tiger"... the tiger.. the panther.. the jaguar.. the sphinx..)
The article is excellent, but the matter of names is neither semantic nor linguistic - it is completely biological and completely wrong. A tiger is a different animal than a tiger, and as already said before - a tiger = Leopard and a tiger = Tiger.
The mistake is well known in Hebrew and it is from the house of Madrasham of turning the rabbit into a rabbit, confusion between the eagle and the eagle, between the deer and the elk, and another priestess and priestess. We will leave the spotted animal as a tiger and the striped one as a tiger.
The life I admire the most. it's so sad.
A tiger is the perfect predator... the glory of evolution.
A tiger, a tiger, a snail without a home... It seems to me that the problem is less on the linguistic level and more on the ecological level. Yes, of course, if it is a tiger and if a tiger is not a tiger, etc., etc., then it must be corrected. But the truth is that even after we fix the Hebrew, the sad situation will not change much.
In Tiger's Blessing,
Ami Bachar
I wonder if it is possible to do therapy with the help of tigers and apply methods of therapy with the help of animals
It is customary, when criticizing a work, to go over the best of it first, and only then to 'pick' the small details. At least, if the critics expect that their words will find a listening ear.
If you enjoyed the article, I'm sure the author will be happy to hear it, and will be more open to constructive criticism of the 'semantics'.
Yes, it's quite strange that there are still people who call a tiger a tiger!
Please correct the article as it is intolerable.
Tiger = LEOPARD
Tigris=TIGER
Everything is true, but: the news and everything around it refers to the Tigers!
Not for tigers.
I have already referred to "semantics" in the past, the importance of which is evident in this knowledge,
In the picture Tigris, he does not have a Hebrew name, therefore it remains Tigris!
That is why it was appropriate to correct and wherever it says tiger to delete and write
TIGRIS!
It is indeed extremely sad and at least regarding the tigers there is currently information that can be used to save some of the species. I wonder what the situation is with the mountain gorillas or other animals. I assume that the same team or teams that will be inspired by him will experiment with mediums and conduct a similar test for other species of animals.
Both amazing and shocking. Who would have believed that we would reach such a pitiful situation. 3000 wild tigers. The world as a tiger extermination camp. Very sad. Such an elegant and impressive animal disappears before our eyes in favor of expensive coats.
I hope that the difficult situation of extinct populations will be encouraged by environmental conservation groups that will take care of breeding in captivity and releasing animals so that they can continue to sustain the species. In the difficult situation of the tigers today, perhaps cloning of particularly strong individuals can help the breed (although the problems of the technique are also a matter that should be given attention).
Very sad to hear.
Ami