Read Online Poacher Peril by J. Burchett - Free Book Online

home?”
    â€œYes,” answered Ben simply. He was dying to tell his godfather every detail of the adventure but knew he couldn’t risk being overheard. “Can’t talk now.”
    â€œI understand.” They could hear the happiness in Uncle Stephen’s voice. “That’s brilliant! I knew I could count on you. And Erika’s had a successful mission, too. I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it when she picks you up tomorrow. I’ll see you back at HQ for a debrief.” The connection was cut.
    â€œHope Uncle Stephen will give us a new mission when we see him,” said Ben as they took the path to their hut. “Wonder what it’ll be.”
    â€œI know one thing,” said Zoe. “It’ll be wild!”



WILD RESCUE
    SUMATRAN TIGER FACTS
    TIGER SURVIVAL
    Ninety-five per cent of the worldwide tiger population has been lost in the last hundred years!
    No. of tigers living in the wild todayabout 4,000
    No. of tigers living in the wild 100 years agoabout 80,000
    No. of subspecies of tiger 100 years ago9
    No. of subspecies of tiger in the world today6
    Sumatran, Amur, Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan,
South China (there are possibly none of this subspecies left in the wild)

    The Sumatran tiger is the smallest subspecies of tiger.
    Length (from head to tail):
Male – 2.4m
Female – 2.2m
    Weight:
Male – 120kg
Female – 90kg
    STATUS: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
    About 350 Sumatran tigers are thought to remain in the wild.
They mostly live in the country’s five national parks.
    Some tiger parts are said to have magical properties. The right front paw bone is thought to be the strongest. It is put into a glass of warm water. After a short while the water is drunk to treat headaches.
    THREATS
    POACHING
    Killing tigers – and selling their body parts – is banned worldwide. However, this doesn’t seem to be enough to stop tiger poaching, even though poachers know that if they’re caught they face up to five years in prison and a very heavy fine.
    DEFORESTATION
    Some areas of rainforest are logged illegally in order to sell the wood and land is often cleared for oil palm plantations. As its habitat disappears tigers cannot find enough prey and may stray into areas close to villages, where they risk being shot.
    HUNTING
    There are still people who hunt tigers for the pleasure of the kill.
    It’s not all bad news!
    The Sumatran Tiger Trust is fighting for the future of the Sumatran tiger. It is funded by the South Lakes Wild Animal Park in Cumbria.Their tiger preservation team captures and re-releases tigers into safer areas. They send information on the location of Sumatran tigers to the Indonesian government, so it can forbid logging in areas where tigers have been found. The trust also tries to persuade loggers to leave ‘corridors’ of trees so that the tigers can move about from one forested area to another.