The events in Ohio demonstrate that the United States has an
exotic animal regulation problem. Our country has not been able
to address the lack of proper control over the keeping of wild
animals as pets. To a zoo community that cares about the welfare
of animals, those in the wild and those in captivity everywhere,
this event was sad on many levels. My heart breaks for the wide
variety of precious animals that were killed, but the 18 Bengal
tigers lost on this day hit close to home. First of all, this
gorgeous species, and Asia’s most iconic predator, is vanishing
in the wild. At the turn of the 20th century, an estimated
100,000 wild tigers inhabited a range extending across Asia.
There are only an estimated 3,000–4,000 wild tigers left, and
only 7% remains of the tiger’s once vast geographic range.
Threatened by habitat loss, diminished prey, human–wildlife
conflict, and the demand for tiger parts, especially bones for
traditional Chinese medicine, tigers are now classified as
endangered. Considering how f