Columbia Daily Tribune: Feb. 10, 1999
By Josh Flory
of the Tribune's staff
When the University of Missouri chose the Bengal tiger as its mascot more than a century ago, 100,000 of the big cats roamed the forests of Asia.
But as MU celebrates its 160th birthday tomorrow, between 5,000 and 7,000 tigers remain on the planet, including 3,000 to 4,000 Bengals.
In light of that decline, MU chancellor Richard Wallace will announce a unique program to raise awareness about the plight of tigers during tomorrow's "Founders' Day" celebration. The program will be called Mizzou Tigers for Tigers and will work to raise awareness about tiger conservation efforts.
Chris Koukola, assistant to the chancellor, said the program is a good fit not only because of the university's mascot, but because of its faculty members who specialize in wildlife conservation.
"It seemed that we had an area of interest with our faculty that was tied also to our mascot," Koukola said, "and to an issue of worldwide importance as far as endangered species are concerned."
The idea was born out of an MU student's trip to Costa Rica. Michael Baltz, a doctoral candidate in the biology department, was in the Central American country for a field course and was struck by the fact that another big cat - the jaguar - was indigenous to that country.
"It just struck me that I have the opportunity to be in a part of the world where there were still large cats wandering around," Baltz said, "and that I really needed to do something toward ensuring that when my daughter was my age she'd have the opportunity to be in a place like that as well."
Baltz, along with assistant professor Mary Ratnaswamy, broached the idea of a tiger conservation effort with Wallace, who gave it his support.
Initially, the program will focus on education. MU will unveil a Web site tomorrow devoted to tiger information, and Koukola said tiger experts will be brought to campus to speak and the university may put public service announcements in athletic programs.
Peter DeBrine, species campaign coordinator at the World Wildlife Fund, said that to his knowledge, MU's program is the only one of its kind at a U.S. university.
The wildlife fund is supporting MU's program with the donation of a 30-second public service announcement, although no broadcast plans have been finalized.
In the long run, Baltz said he hopes to see MU collaborate with groups that work in tiger-range countries to take more direct action. Initially, though, the main focus of Mizzou Tigers for Tigers will be education.
There are five living subspecies of tigers, Baltz said, and one of those, the South China Tiger, has dwindled to less than 50 individuals. "The Bengal tiger is probably the greatest hope for tigers in general."
Research efforts that develop under the initiative will focus on Bengal tigers in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, he said.
Ratnaswamy said that people interested in learning more about tigers or how to contribute to conservation efforts can find details at the Mizzou Tigers for Tigers Web site at http://tigers.missouri.edu
Tiger facts
Tigers are covered under the strictest protection of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, but value and demand for their parts make enforcement difficult. Poachers sell tiger bones, whiskers and other body parts for use in traditional Asian medicines. Poaching and habitat loss are the main threats to the species' survival.
The World Wildlife Fund's conservation efforst include protecting critical habitat, closing North American markets for tiger products and elinimnating demand for tiger bone.
Source: World Wildlife Fund