For Skins and bones
The survival of tigers and other wild cats in India is also under threat. Elsewhere, some subspecies of tigers, such as the Caspian, the Java, and the Bali, are thought to be extinct already. At the beginning of the 20th century, about 40,000 tigers roamed India's forests. Over the years their numbers have dwindled. This is because their habitat has progressively been destroyed and because they have been hunted for their skin and certain bones that are thought to have healing powers in Chinese medicine.

Concerning the effect of the lack of proper habitat on tigers, the book The Secret Life of Tigers says: “Populations of tigers can only increase when the area of forests that they live in increases. When this does not happen, tigers control their own population by fatal disputes among themselves over food and territory.”
How do other wild cats fare on Indian soil? At a zoo in Junagadh, Gujarat, a visitor came across an empty cage. The sign outside the cage had a picture of an Asiatic cheetah and a message written in Gujarati, which read: “The cheetah became extinct in India in the 1950's.”

What does the future hold?
The future for India's endangered creatures does not appear bright. The evidence is overwhelming that humans have been selfishly ruining the earth, which has included the destruction of much of its magnificent wildlife. What will happen? The authoritative word of God, recorded in the Holy Bible, indicates that the time is near when the following prophecy will be fulfilled: “The nations became wrathful, and your [God's] own wrath came, and the appointed time. . . to bring to ruin those ruining the earth.”—Revelation 11:18.
What will be the effect when the earth has been cleansed of all those who have despoiled it and its marvelous wildlife? What a wonderful time that will be! Humans will no longer endanger any animal species. This will take place under the rule of God's Kingdom, for which Jesus Christ taught humans to pray.—Isaiah 11:6-9; Matthew 6:10.

(With inputs from TOI and Indian Express)