Tiger Bone & Rhino Horn

"In parts of China and Korea, bears are captured in the wild and brought to "farms", where they are imprisoned in squeeze cages and a catheter is inserted into their gall bladders. The dripping bile is used to treat human ailments ranging from upset stomach to skin burns. Bears may live as long as fifteen years in this state before being left to die or slaughtered for the gall bladder itself." "Their suffering is not unique: rhinos are being killed for their horns, as are tigers for their bones, thought to improve virility. The trade in animal parts for traditional Chinese medicine is now the leading cause of some species' endangerment in Asia and Africa. While most traditional Chinese medicines rely on herbs, the demand for products made at the expense of threatened animals is growing." "Richard Ellis, a leading expert on extinction, exposes the individual horrors and the long-term devastation these practices are wreaking on wildlife. One hundred years ago, as many as 100,000 tigers roamed India, South China, Southeast Asia, and the Russian Far East. Today the South Chinese, Caspian, Balinese, and Javan subspecies are extinct, and the others are not far behind. In 1930, there were 80,000 black rhinos in Africa. Now there are fewer than 3,600." Tigers, bears, and rhinos are not the only animals sacrificed to ease human ills - the list includes musk deer, saiga antelope, sea horses, pangolins, and sea lions - but the dwindling number of those rare species demands particular attention. In this well-research, and wide-ranging account, Richard Ellis reveals the little-discussed sources of their predicament and explores what still must be done to protect these charismatic creatures from extinction in the wild.