Download additional copies, supporting resources and multilingual versions online at www.ifaw.org/education-uk

“Wild tigers are in trouble. Together, we can save them.”

–Leonardo DiCaprio

Born to be wildBorn to be wildSaving the majestic tiger

Teaching guide and lessons

Key Stage 3 - Citizenship, Science, Geography, English

Supported by:

Animal Action educationEach year, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) launches a new Animal Action education programme focusing on a different theme related to animals and the environment for teachers and their students in 16 countries. Free educational materials include: this booklet; a companion DVD; a wall poster and a leaflet with extension ideas for individual, group, and community actions.

Learning objectivesThis pack has been created for an international audience of teachers. The lessons in the programme meet UK Key Stage 3 learning objectives in Science, English, Citizenship and Humanities. Students will learn life science concepts and vocabulary, practise purposeful reading and comprehension strategies, conduct a debate based on points of view from a simulated news article and understand aspects of national and international law. Subject teachers may wish to add more subject specific detail or curriculum relevance. We hope that students will find it interesting to experience how the learning from several specialisms can be brought together to fully equip us to act on the common cause of saving the tiger from extinction.

The resource enables UK teachers and students to explore some key concepts of the Citizenship curriculum including the current emphasis on rights and responsibilities. It also helps deliver the key skills and processes that pupils need to make progress, including critical thinking and enquiry, advocacy and representation, with the potential for them to engage in taking informed and responsible action in response to the issues raised.

Companion DVDThe educational film on the IFAW DVD runs for approximately 15 minutes and is appropriate for general youth audiences. The DVD also includes PDF documents of all programme materials, plus supporting resources.

© IFAW 2010 • Front cover images: © IFAW/A. Mookerjee; © Digitalvision

© IFAW/A. Mookerjee

Online references• Fun animal activities, fact sheets, photos and more: www.ifaw.org/

discoveranimals• IUCN Cats Specialist Group: http://www.catsg.org/catsgportal/20_catsg-

website/home/index_en.htm• Global Tiger Initiative: http://www.globaltigerinitiative.org/• International Tiger Coalition: http://www.endtigertrade.org/• Global Tiger Forum: http://www.globaltigerforum.com• Operation Charm: http://www.operationcharm.org/• Earn Your Stripes (an interactive virtual action centre). Learn about tigers,

take action and earn fun prizes: www.ifaw.org/earnyourstripes

International Fund for Animal Welfare89 Albert EmbankmentLondon SE1 7UD

More copies and additional resources available online at ifaw.org/education-uk

ContentsIntroduction and contents

3 How to use this programme

5 Born to be wild/Why tigers matter

6 Tigers under threat

7 Focus country: India

8 Focus country: China

9 Focus country: Russia/Extinction is forever

Lesson plans10 Lesson 1: Discovering tigers - viewing the DVD/

reading the information pages

11 Lesson 2: Creating a tiger food web

12 Lesson 3: Tiger threats and responses

13 Lesson 4: Tigers and the law

14 Primary source: IFAW briefing

15 Lesson 5: Debating tiger farms

16 News article: Tiger farms in China under fire

17 Worksheet 1: Reading/viewing guide

18 Worksheet 2: Threats and responses chart

19 Worksheet 3: DVD quiz

20 Glossary

Born to be wild: Saving the majestic tiger aims to educate students about the characteristics of wild tigers, the threats to their survival and the actions people are taking to save them and their habitats worldwide. The programme includes age-appropriate student readings, corresponding lesson plans, ‘graphic organisers’, and supplements available on the companion DVD or online (www.ifaw.org/education-uk).

Graphic organisers in the classroom

Visual thinking can be expressed in many ways. Graphic organisers can allow visual thinkers to arrange their ideas. They have many names including visual maps, mind mapping and visual organisers and are suitable for individuals and large groups. Some teachers like to create a class concept map to review against at the end of a unit. Individual students can find them particularly useful in activities that require critical thinking skills. Although many students plan with paper and pencil, technology tools can be helpful as they allow easy editing.

Differentiation and extension activities

In order to maximise opportunities for teachers to use their own creativity and discretion, each of the lessons has been broadly written with scope to add fine detail as required. Further ideas for adapting and extending activities are available online at www.ifaw.org/education-uk

Ground rules activityPrior to discussions that may involve strong views or feelings, many teachers and students like to develop ground rules within their classrooms to promote positive listening, respect and sensitivity to different points of view.

Ask the class to pair up and answer the following question: “How do people behave towards me that helps me feel confident and comfortable to talk with them about things that really matter to me?”

Ask the pairs to move into groups of six and share their ideas. Have them make a list of the behaviours that all six can understand and agree with. These may include:

1. They listen to me.2. They don’t laugh.3. They don’t shout out what I say to other people.

Gather the whole class and ask each group to report their list - one behaviour at a time. Check for understanding and agreement with the whole class. Only write down those that everybody accepts and understands.

Steer the group towards identifying clearly observable behaviours rather than broad concepts. Display the list as a means to encourage individuals to take responsibility for their actions within the group.

How to use ‘Born to be wild’

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A suggested approach1. Introduce topic Lesson 1, companion DVD

The teacher uses a brief paired discussion and initial viewing of the film to build background and tap into students’ prior knowledge about tigers.

2. Develop knowledge of the subject Lesson 1, companion DVD, worksheets 1 and 3 (optional)

Students use a graphic organiser to record their thinking as they view the film, jotting down key points, important vocabulary and questions they have. Following the viewing, students discuss their ideas in groups. They will return to the graphic organiser at the end of the programme as they view the video once more. They may also take the short video quiz (Worksheet 3).

3. Read information pages Lesson 1, worksheet 1 (optional)

The teacher uses suggestions from Lesson 1 to prepare students to read, based on their reading abilities. During reading, students use a graphic organiser for guidance.

4. Conduct selected lesson activities and worksheets Lessons 2–5, information pages 5-9, IFAW briefing page 14, news article page 16, worksheet 2 (optional)

The teacher chooses from lessons designed to consolidate understanding after reading the information pages. Lesson 2 focuses on scientific concepts introduced on pages 5 and 6; Lesson 3 guides students to consider the key threats and conservation activities introduced on pages 7–9; Lesson 4 engages students in the role played by international law and is particularly relevant to students exploring citizenship; Lesson 5 outlines a debate activity for students to examine points of view on the issue of tiger farming from the news article.

5. Consolidate learning Companion DVD, graphic organiser

Using the completed graphic organiser from their first viewing, students compare their understanding of the topic from the beginning of the programme to the end of the programme.

6. Take action (Lessons, Take action leaflet)

Possibilities for students to take action on wild tiger issues will be provided on this DVD and online.

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Why tigers matterTigers are an important part of the planet’s rich diversity of life. As top predators in their food webs, they feed on a variety of prey species and help maintain the structure and functioning of the ecosystems they inhabit. Tigers are termed a keystone species. This means that if they disappear, there will be far-reaching and negative consequences for other parts of the ecosystem. Consequently protecting tigers helps many other species as well.

Yet sadly these ecologically important animals are dangerously close to van-ishing from the Earth as only a few thousand remain in the wild.

Eight subspecies* of tigers once roamed across Asia, adapting to a variety of habitats from the cold woodlands of the Russian Far East to the varied grasslands and forests of India and the tropical jungles of Indonesia. Tigers now live in scat-tered groups in a small fraction of their original range.

Tiger habitats must include three key components: dense vegetation for cover, access to water and suf-ficient large, hoofed animals to serve as prey. Their main food sources are different types of deer and wild pigs, but they may also eat birds, mon-keys, reptiles, fish and even young elephants and rhinos.

igers are among the most striking and unique animals on the planet. The largest of all cats, tigers are remarkably well-adapted to survival in the wild.

Their distinctive black stripes have patterns as unique to individuals as fingerprints. The stripes create cam-ouflage that is ideally suited to the forests and grasslands where most wild tigers live. If you shaved a tiger’s fur off, the dark stripes would remain on its skin.

Many cultures have long revered tigers as icons of beauty, charm, luck and power. Tiger images appear in Stone Age cave paintings in India and in many temples and shrines throughout Asia; the tiger is also one of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac.

An adult tigress usually has two or three cubs, which remain with their mother for two years or more. Aside from mating pairs and females with cubs, tigers tend to live alone. Wild tigers have a life span of 10 to 15 years.

Fur: helps maintain constant body temperature; in extreme temperatures, tigers grow longer coats in winter than in summer; fur on tigers in tropical forests is a deeper colourBody: average wild tiger 2.7–3 m in

length, including tail 80 cm; height at shoulder is 105 cm; weight is 135–270 kgEars: white spots on

backs of ears are believed to help cubs follow mother through dense undergrowth

Stripes: provide camouflage for tigers to hide in undergrowth

Eyes: powerful eyesight for twilight hunting

Legs: can run 55-65 kph, but tigers rely on stealth rather than speed to catch prey

Forehead: special marking often resembles Chinese character 王, which means ‘king’

Face/nose/mouth: tigers communicate through scent and vocalisations (some heard as far away as 5 km); whiskers help for feeling way through habitat

Scent glands: help tigers mark territory; found around toes, face, tail

* Scientists have traditionally reported eight subspecies; an alternative classification system of division brings the total to nine.

Born to be wild

CHINA

INDIA

RUSSIA

KOREA

THAILAND

INDONESIA

MALAYSIA

Estimated tiger range around 1900

Estimated current tiger range by species:

Amur tiger

South China tiger

Indochinese tiger

Bengal tiger

Sumatran tiger

Caspian Sea

Tigers in captivity

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Tigers under threatIn the 20th Century, three subspe-cies of tiger disappeared: the Caspian tiger from Central Asia, the Bali tiger and Javan tiger from Indonesia. The South China tiger may also be extinct in the wild. All surviv-ing tiger subspecies (Amur, Bengal, Indochinese and Sumatran) are endangered, and some are critically endangered. Researchers estimate that as few as 3,000 tigers remain in the wild. These are mostly Bengal tigers.

Tigers are at risk for several reasons. One threat is the rapid disappear-ance of their habitat as human populations grow. As wild lands are replaced by houses, roads, farms and logging operations, wild tigers are forced to live in small ‘islands’ of habitat without links or corridors to their natural environment which enables them to move from place to place. This process, called habi-tat fragmentation, causes survival stresses that can lead to extinction.

Another is the loss of their prey animals due to wildlife hunting in and around tiger habitat. Without food, tigers may wander into villages to prey on livestock. This interaction

Although there are as few as 3,000 tigers left in the wild, thousands more are kept in captivity around the world. In China, some 6,000 tigers are kept by a few large tiger farms that breed for the trade in tiger parts and products (see page 8). In the US alone, there are between 5,000 and 10,000 captive tigers. Most are privately owned, often living in cramped and miserable conditions along roadsides and in backyard-breeder facilities, circus wagons and private homes. Many were purchased as exotic pets when they were cubs. But these cubs don’t stay small and appealing for long. Within a few years, they can become aggressive and owners can’t keep up with their needs. Release to the wild is not possible because these tigers lack the skills needed to survive.

Tigers are symbols of strength and courage in many cultures. These same traits make tigers into targets for hunters and wildlife traders. IFAW protects dwindling wild tiger populations from poaching, illegal trade and habitat loss. It also rescues orphaned tiger cubs to give them a second chance at life in the wild.

is often lethal for both people and tigers.

Finally, tigers are threatened by the illegal trade in their body parts. Tigers are poached - illegally shot, trapped and poisoned - because some people will pay high prices for tiger bones, skins, meat and other body parts.

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Focus country: IndiaIndia has the largest number of wild tigers in the world and was home to 40,000 at the beginning of the 20th Century. However, hunting made their numbers drop sharply. By 2009, as few as 1,411 tigers were left in the country.

Tiger shooting was banned in India in 1970 and two years later, the Wildlife Protection Act was passed. In 1973 the Indian government launched Project Tiger to save its remaining tigers, establishing nine large forested areas as tiger reserves. Each had a core area protected from human disturbance and were managed so they could return to as near to as their previous natural state as possible. By 2009 the number of tiger reserves in India had grown to 37.

But wild tigers need protecting from poaching in order to survive and thrive. Thousands of wildlife guards now defend tigers from poachers at the reserves and guards work along India’s borders to combat illegal smuggling of tiger parts to other countries.

Project Tiger has raised local support for conservation issues and its work to protect tiger habitats has helped to protect human habitats. Erosion has been reduced, ecosystems stabilised and wise land use encouraged, demonstrating that what’s good for tigers is often good for everyone.

Climate changeClimate change is endangering the habitat of one of the largest remaining groups of wild tigers. Rising sea levels - caused by melting ice and other factors - threaten to destroy the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, a coastal area along India’s border with Bangladesh. Researchers predict that if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t limited quickly,

In India, IFAW was instrumental in bringing tigers back to the Sariska Tiger Reserve after poachers killed all of its wild tigers. IFAW has also trained and equipped nearly 5,000 enforcement officers, about one third of India’s anti-poaching force.

96 per cent of this tiger habitat will disappear in the next 50 to 90 years. Without sufficient habitat, the tigers will disappear as well.

The dark green area on this satellite image shows the Sundarbans, a protected mangrove forest system that is important tiger habitat. This protected area, which stands out sharply from the lighter-coloured farmlands around it, is less than one metre above sea level in most places.

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Focus country: ChinaExperts believe that the South China tiger subspecies is descended from the earliest of all tigers, which originated in China two million years ago. Just half a century ago, four subspecies and thousands of wild tigers roamed the country.

Fewer than 50, if any, wild tigers remain alive in China today. But more than 6,000 captive tigers live on tiger farms. People breed them to make tiger-bone wine - marketed as ‘health tonic’ - and other products.

The living conditions on tiger farms are often harsh and unnatural. Wild tigers roam large areas of land, but in farms they’re confined to small cages. Cubs are separated from their moth-ers at three months old - instead of three years old in the wild – meaning the mothers can breed again quickly to produce more tigers for the farms.

The buying and selling of tiger parts has been banned in China since 1993, and an agreement signed by most of the world’s nations aims to protect tigers from international trade. Despite this agreement and national legislation, China continues to allow the existence of tiger farms, which sell products made from tigers. This can stimulate demand for tiger parts, even though it is illegal to buy and sell them.

This is a problem not just for the tigers on the farms but also for wild tigers everywhere. People who use tiger prod-ucts would rather have them made from wild tigers than from farmed tigers (they believe wild tigers are stron-ger). A wild tiger sold for its parts can fetch as much as £30,000 on the black market, making the illegal killing of wild tigers very profitable.

Meanwhile, conservation groups con-tinue to push for strengthened laws and improved law enforcement to drive down the demand for tiger parts.

Tigers and Traditional Chinese Medicine

At tiger farms in China, tiger cubs are separated from their mother when they are as young as three months old.

One of the ways that IFAW works to combat the trade in tiger body parts in the UK is through the Operation Charm coalition, which includes NGOs, government and the Metropolitan Police. Operation Charm carries out education programmes, investigations and enforcement. For more facts visit www.operationcharm.org.

Although tiger-farm promoters argue that tiger parts are used in traditional medicine, the traditional medicine community has stated that there are effective humane replacements for tiger ingredients.

In many Asian cultures, traditional beliefs say that certain tiger body parts have healing properties. People who practised Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) used to put tiger bone in medicine to treat certain illnesses. In the wake of global concern about tiger survival, however, the TCM community has actively worked to find and promote alternatives to tiger parts in medicine.

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Tiger cub rescued

Thanks to the efforts of IFAW and other conservation groups, a young orphaned tiger (like the one above) recently received a second chance. The cub, which wandered into a Russian village in March 2009 in a weakened condition, was not expected to survive. Tiger specialists captured it and turned it over to the daily care of a rehabilitation team. The cub recovered as a result of a special diet and training to restore its natural hunting skills and healthy fear of humans. It was released in a nature reserve in September 2009. Most orphaned Amur tiger cubs that are rescued lack the skills for life in the wild and must remain in captivity. This lucky cub was only the second to be able to return to a life of freedom.

Focus country: RussiaAmur tigers (also known as Siberian tigers) once ranged across the Russian Far East, into China and down the Korean Peninsula. By the 1940s, they were hunted to a small corner of the Russian Far East. Conservation efforts saved them from extinction and the population slowly grew, but the tigers again fell into extreme decline in the early 1990s. The reasons? The collapse of the Soviet Union resulted in weak-ened law enforcement along Russia’s border with China and the demand for tiger body parts in China encour-aged poaching of tigers in Russia. Poachers could easily smuggle tiger parts across the border.

In 1994, the Russian government, along with several conservation groups, established six anti-poaching teams. The results were remarkable. Tiger losses dropped from 60 to 70 per year during the early 1990s to 13 in 1995 and 18 in 1996. The num-ber of Amur tigers stabilised through a combination of law enforcement and a ban on the sale of tiger prod-ucts. The government raised the pen-alty for poaching a wild tiger from roughly £30 to £13,000.

Despite these efforts, Amur tigers are still in trouble. A 2008–2009 winter survey showed the overall population

To help save Russia’s last wild Amur tigers, IFAW supports tiger patrol teams that work to combat poaching in the Russian Far East.

had declined by 30 per cent, which means there are fewer than 300 to 400 tigers left in Russia. Along with declines in prey animals, poaching is still a problem in the Russian Far East, making anti-poaching teams crucial to the tiger’s survival. They aim to detect and prevent tiger poaching. They enforce wildlife laws, identify smuggling routes and keep an eye on illegal trade. Other efforts in the region include educating school children about tiger conservation and encouraging public support of tiger protection.

Extinction is foreverWild tigers are in crisis and their extinction looms far too close to be ignored. Tigers have disappeared from vast areas of their original habitat.Their numbers have dropped from around 100,000 in the early 1900s to as few as 3,000 today.Government commitments to action plans for conserving wild tigers in all the countries where tigers live are reasons for hope. To save these mag-nificent animals people must work together to protect tiger habitat, elimi-nate poaching, combat illegal trade and reduce the demand for tiger parts.

The annual Tiger Day celebration in Vladivostok is the biggest event in the region, attracting thousands of people and encouraging them to protect, not poach, Russia’s remaining wild tigers.

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Main learning outcomes: Students will make connections to a text (or film), organise thinking using a graphic organiser and expand understanding of content and vocabulary related to tigers.

This lesson will help develop key concepts relating to physical and human processes as well as environmental interaction and sustain-able development found in the programmes of study for Key Stage 3 Geography as well as the key processes of geographical enquiry.Lesson plan

Viewing the filmBefore/during viewing1. Help students make connections to prior knowledge by having them each turn to a partner and talk for a minute about what they know about tigers.2. Show the film uninterrupted.3. After viewing, ask students if they learned any new infor-mation about tigers.4. Create a large graphic organiser on a flip chart or on an overhead transparency.

Reading the information pages

Before reading1. Make a large copy of the graphic organiser and ask students to make an individual copy for themselves.2. Have students preview the text and predict what they will read about.3. Choose the way to read the text that is best suited to the reading level of students. You could:• read the text aloud as students follow along. Demonstrate finding the key concepts and recording them on the class graphic organiser • pair good readers with less-able readers. Have them read and discuss the text together, stopping as they read to write responses on their graphic organisers• ask students to independently read the text, recording their ideas on their graphic organisers as they go along.

After reading4. After students have read the text, use the discussion questions provided in each lesson to help students consolidate their understanding of the text.5. Ask students to share their notes from their graphic organisers with the class. Record their ideas on the group graphic organiser.

STUDENT WORKSHEET • REPRODUCIBLE

Blackline Master 1: Reading/Viewing Guide

Name ______________________________________________________________________ Date: ___________________________________

Directions: As you view the video and read or listen to information about tigers, jot down the key points that you want to remember. List important vocabulary words and write questions that you have.

Tigers

What I Know Questions

Key Words Key Ideas

5. Give each student a copy of Worksheet 1 - The Graphic Organiser for personal use. On their graphic organisers, ask students to jot down any questions from their first viewing of the film. Ask them to write one or two important facts they know about tigers.6. Tell students you want them to listen for key words and ideas in the film as they view it again. Have them jot these down on the graphic organiser.7. Ask the students to record their ideas. Invite the students to note where the film confirms what they already know, where it develops their knowledge and also where it challenges their previous thinking about tigers.

After viewing8. Place students in small groups. Ask them to discuss the film using the notes they have jotted down on their individual graphic organisers.9. Call the groups together and have them share ideas while you record their thoughts on the large graphic organiser on chart paper or on the transparency.10. Save the chart or transparency. Explain that at the end of the unit, students will view the film one more time to see if any of their thoughts have changed. An optional Film Quiz worksheet is available on page 19.

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Lesson 1: Discovering tigers

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Main learning outcome: Students will understand the ecological concept of a food web.

This lesson has the potential for teachers and students to explore aspects of the range and content of the Key Stage 3 Science curriculum. For example ‘Organisms, behaviour and health’ where ‘all living things show variation, can be classified and are interdependent, interacting with each other and their environment’ and ‘Organisms, behaviour and health’ where teachers and students can explore how ‘human activity and natural processes can lead to changes in the environment’.

Discussion questions: (pages 5-6)• Inwhat ways are tigers well suited to their wild environment?•Whyisitimportanttosavetigersinwildenvironmentsratherthankeeping

them in captivity?• Howmight people reduce the threats to wild tigers identified on page 6?

Lesson plan1. With the class read pages 5 to 6.

2. Reinforce the key vocabulary. Say the fol-lowing: An ecosystem is an interacting com-munity of plants and animals and the non-living components of the environment in which they live. Food webs show how energy moves between living things within an ecosystem as they eat one another. In general, energy flows from producers to consumers to decomposers. For example, plants create energy from sunlight. Deer get energy by eating the plants. Wolves get energy by eating the deer. When wolves die, bacteria, fungi, and scavengers return the wolves’ nutrients to the soil for the plants to use.

3. Tell students that they will create food webs for a Bengal tiger in India (the most common wild tiger), using informa-tion from the text. Pair students with differing abilities and give each pair a set of index cards. Ask them to create one card for each of the following animals: tigers, deer, wild pigs, birds, monkeys, fish, elephants, rhinos, bears (which tigers will rouse from dens), leopards, reptiles, insects and worms.

4. The text says that tiger habitats have ‘dense’ plant growth. Ask students to add cards for plant foods that might be found in a tiger’s food web in India, such as grasses (eaten most by deer, pigs, elephants, rhinos); flowers, fruits, berries, nuts (birds, pigs, monkeys); and tree leaves (mostly elephants).

5. Ask each pair to put its cards on a large sheet of chart paper, with any plants roughly at the bottom and the tiger near the top. Tell them to pencil arrows in the direction of any organism that eats another one. Ask students what the arrows show about energy flow (flows are complex; most flow toward tiger). Monitor students’ progress.

6. Once students are satisfied with their food webs, let them glue their cards to the sheets to make food-web posters. Then ask for a few teams to volunteer to present their food webs to the whole group. Presenters should be praised for any logi-cal connections, but their peers should also be encouraged to suggest revisions.

7. Ask students to consider what needs to be protected to support a tiger’s food web. Point out that a tiger feeds on various animals that in turn depend on many plants. Guide students to recognise that protecting tigers means protecting habitats and therefore other animals.

8. Place an index card labelled ‘humans’ at the top of one of the students’ webs. Ask students to share their thoughts on how humans might also affect tiger food webs (for example, by eliminating habitats, competing for their foods or hunting tigers).

9. Ask each student to write a brief paragraph summarising what he or she learned from the activity. Encourage them to use effective writing techniques, such as writing a topic sen-tence and supporting it with examples.

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For more informationTiger fact sheet: http://www.ifaw.org/tigers

Action tiger conservation: http://199.79.62.14/~wtior33y/publications/action-tiger.pdf

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Lesson 3: Tiger threats and responses

Main learning outcomes: Students will understand main threats to tigers, locate text information, identify main ideas and supporting details and identify problems and solutions.

This session can allow further exploration of both the Key Stage 3 Geography and Science programmes of study including practical and enquiry skills and critical understanding of evidence and communication.

Discussion questions: (pages 6-9)•Whydoestheauthor write that “what’s good for tigers is often good

for everyone” on page 7?•Whydoesahigherdemandfortigerproductsingeneralleadtomore

poaching of wild tigers?•Whydocountries need to co-ordinate with one another to protect wild tigers?

Lesson planIdentifying threats and responses

1.With the class read pages 6-9.

Review the ‘Tigers under threat’ section on page 6. Help stu-dents find the threats to wild tigers mentioned in the last three paragraphs on this page (loss of habitat due to human popula-tion growth, lack of prey species due to hunting, poaching for sale of body parts).

2. On chart paper or an overhead transparency, create a whole-group chart similar to the one shown below.

3. Ask students to review each page that describes a focus country (pages 7-9). Using Worksheet 2 ask them to work in

pairs to record what the main threats are to wild tigers in each country, what sentence supports their conclusions and what people are doing about the threats. Encourage them to read the captions and sidebars on each page, as these often tell what peo-ple are doing about the threats. Allow students time to discuss their thoughts in pairs. Students who want to work ahead may address the final column of the chart, but they are not required to do so while working in their pairs.

4. Ask students to return to the larger group. Ask for volunteers to say what they named as the threats to wild tigers in each focus country. Encourage them to read the supporting state-ments from the text. Take notes on the whole-group chart in the ‘Threats’, ‘Supporting statements’ and ‘What people are doing’ columns.

5. Discuss as a whole group what more people could be doing to save wild tigers. Prompt stu-dents to think about what governments might do, what conservation groups might do and what individuals might do. Write responses on the group chart. Ask students what they them-selves could do. To complete the lesson, or as homework, ask your students to imagine a world without tigers in an essay, poem, story, piece of art, song or other creative expression.

Wild tigers—threats and responses

Country ThreatsSupporting statements

What people are doing about the

threats

What more we could all do about

the threats

India

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Other

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For more informationTiger fact sheet: http://www.ifaw.org/tigers

World bank report: Building a Future for Wild Tigers: http://www.worldbank.org/tigers

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Homework

If you were Prime Minister of India today, what actions would you take to protect the wild population of tigers in your country? How would you promote these ideas to the international community and those countries still trading in tiger parts and products?

Lesson plan1. Ask the students to indicate their point of view by either a show of hands or more actively through an agree/disagree con-tinuum created across the classroom.

• People in Europe have a right to a say in the future of tigers in the wild.

• Humanrightsaremoreimportantthananimal rights.

• Atigerpoacherhastherighttorespondtotheneedsofthemarket for tiger products.

• Itisimportantthatancienthumantraditionsarepreservedand encouraged.

• Iwantmychildrentoliveinaworldwheretigersstillliveinthe wild.

• Farmingtigersforthetradeintigerpartsandproductsiswrong.

After each question invite students to share the reasons for their points of view. Ask all students to reflect on the likely effect on the tiger population of the various points of view they hold. Ask if their own points of view are consistent?

For example, is the right to use tiger parts as an ancient tra-dition of Chinese medicine consistent with wanting tigers to survive so that their children can live in a world where wild tigers still exist?

2. Conduct a mini debate in pairs so that all students can experience representing and then challenging both sides of an argument. For example: Student A should argue there is no point in trying to save tigers in the wild as it is too late. Student B challenges each point that A makes.

After two minutes reverse the positions to develop a wider range of arguments and challenges. Partners should make a quick list of the key points raised before joining a four, shar-ing and noting the points of view on both sides and the chal-lenges that can be made.

Make a class list of key points and useful challenges on both sides of the argument. Ask the class to identify which of the counter arguments they feel would have the most impact on protecting tigers in the wild.

3. Explain to the students the difference between national and international laws using the following definitions.

National laws are made to protect life and property within a single country.

International law comes into force where threats cross national boundaries or are likely to affect all countries.

Explain that countries often agree to enact different laws in order to play their part in making a difference on an interna-tional scale. For example country A might make it illegal to buy any tiger products. This will help country B make their law against poaching tigers more effective.

4. Distribute the IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) briefing on the page overleaf to improve international law enforcement through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Ask the students to identify the key recommendations that IFAW supports in order to harness the force of international law behind protecting the tiger.

Ask the class to compare the IFAW proposals with the list of counter arguments made after the mini debate. To what extent do the IFAW proposals support the ideas developed in the class during the mini debates?

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Lesson 4: Tigers and the law

Main learning outcomes: Students will consider some of the social, moral and political dimensions of protecting tigers in the wild. They will engage with and reflect on different ideas, opinions, beliefs and values when explor-ing this issue and begin to understand about the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) as one aspect of international law.

This lesson contributes to several aspects of the Key Stage 3 Citizenship curriculum.

Rights and responsibilities

•Understandingthatindividuals,organisationsandgovernmentshaveresponsibilities to ensure that rights are balanced, supported and protected.

•Investigatingwaysinwhichrightscancompeteandconflictandunder-standing that hard decisions have to be made to try to balance these.

Key processes

•Criticalthinkingandenquiry.

•Advocacyandrepresentationleadingtotheopportunityforstudentstoactively engage and take informed and responsible action.

CITES agreements on tigers

All tigers and other Asian big cat spe-cies are listed on CITES Appendix I which makes the commercial inter-national trade in parts and products from their bodies illegal. Thirteen of the 14 countries which have tigers in them have some types of national laws banning tiger hunting and trade.

Unfortunately CITES resolutions and the national laws which should result from them have sometimes not been implemented. In some countries where the laws exist they may not be enforced. Consequently the numbers of tigers left in the wild have experienced a dramatic decline.

There may be as few as 1,411 tigers left in India and there has been a possible 41 per cent drop in the Amur tiger population in the Russian Far East in the past 12 years. Scientists warn that unless intensive conservation efforts are implemented quickly, the wild tiger may not sur-vive through this century.

International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)

IFAW supports measures to improve law enforcement to prevent poach-ing and to curtail trade in both wild and captive tigers and other Asian big cat species.

IFAW remains concerned about the breeding of tigers in captivity and

how the sale of tiger parts and deriva-tives from these farms may stimulate trade in wild tiger parts. IFAW’s own investigations have revealed that tiger parts and products from facilities where tigers are being bred and farmed are already being traded both online and at other outlets. This violates both international and national trade bans. With tigers already in peril, any trade in their parts, even parts from captive breeding facilities, will have deadly consequences for wild tigers as any trade encourages demand.

Tiger meat sold as ‘Big King Meat’ on a restaurant menu at the Guilin Xiongsen Bear and Tiger Farm, South West China.

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Elimination of all possible uses of tiger parts and their trade

Although the use of tiger parts for traditional medicine is now banned under CITES, tiger parts are being used for making tonics and food. IFAW believes that the CITES agreements protecting tigers need to include all possible uses of tiger parts and derivatives, and that all countries that are consumers of tiger products should carry out awareness and demand reduction campaigns to help stop the illegal trade.

Reporting and compliance

IFAW also believes that CITES should require Parties to report back to show how they are implementing and com-plying with CITES tiger agreements.

If Parties do not report back, then IFAW believes that sanctions should be introduced against them such as banning that country from trading in any animal specimens covered by CITES with any other country.

BackgroundThe Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement between govern-ments. It aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild ani-mals and plants does not drive them to extinction.

CITES (www.cites.org) is a voluntary international agreement. Those countries that agree to obey the Convention are known as Parties; 175 Parties have signed up to CITES.

Although CITES is legally binding it does not take the place of national laws. Parties have to make their own national laws that support what CITES says they should do in terms of protecting wild animals and plants.

IFAW briefing

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Main learning outcome: Students will extend their skills by presenting points of view in debate, drawing on a text stimulus.

This activity delivers key processes of advocacy and representation required by the Key Stage 3 Citizenship curriculum.

Lesson planBefore reading1. Introduce the fictional news article on page 16 to stu-dents. Emphasise that this is not a real newspaper article, but that it is based on real events and real issues around tiger farming in China. Ask students to recall information they learned from the rest of the text about tiger farming in China (from page 8). If they have developed graphic organisers for that previous content, have them review these now.

2. Discuss the photographs, captions and headings in the article and ask students to predict what the article will be about. Point out that the first paragraph of a news article usually gives the most important information, so they should pay special attention to this when they read. Set a purpose for reading: tell students to look carefully at what people say on either side of the tiger-farming debate.

3. Have students read the article individually or in pairs, depending on their abilities. You can also read the article aloud with the whole class.

Discussion questions

• Thewritersaysinthisarticlethatpeoplearguedatameeting. What are the outcomes that people from each side wanted from the meeting?

• DoyouthinkthatthetraditionalChinesemedicinecom-munity gave up too easily on defending its traditions? Why or why not?

• Basedontheendofthefictionalarticle,whymightthe

writer think it is unlikely that the two sides will come to agreement soon?

After reading (page 16)

4. Read the final paragraph of the article aloud to the whole class. Tell students that they will role-play a ‘follow-up con-ference’ with the same sides of the debate as are represented in the article. Divide the class into groups that represent the ‘for farming’ side, the ‘against farming side’ ‘a chair and vice chair’ and ‘reporters’ for the media from newspapers, TV, etc. Assign the groups at random and ask students to do as well as they can presenting their roles, even if they do not completely agree with them. Reporters’ roles can also be differentiated: each reporter can represent a different paper from a regional Chinese newspaper to an international broadsheet, or even a TV company such as the BBC or CNN.

5. Ask the student groups to reread the article to find the arguments ‘for’ and ‘against’. Let them choose one member as a note-taker who can keep a simple two-column chart for the arguments. Monitor and help the groups find the article’s main points for debate. Emphasise that good debat-ers find the main arguments for their own side as well as for the other side, so they can prepare for the other group’s arguments. If time allows, encourage students to practise delivering their arguments. Tell the reporters and moderators that they need to know both sides well.

6. Stage the ‘follow-up conference’ in which the ‘for’ and ‘against’ teams present their arguments. The teams might choose members to play the roles of the people named in the article. Or they might choose to have each member take 30 seconds to present parts of the team argument. Remind moderators to make sure the discussion stays respectful. Ask the reporters to take notes and then give a balanced televi-sion report on it, without saying who ‘won’.

7. After the debate and reports, gather the whole class again to discuss what they learned about the sides in the debate, whether their opinions changed and how they feel about the issue in the end. You might choose to take a blind vote at this point to see how the class feels overall.

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Lesson 5: Debating tiger farms

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NEW DELHI, INDIA — Tiger farms were a main topic of discussion at the recent All-Asia Conservation confer-ence in New Delhi, India. Conserva-tionists sparred with tiger-farm investors during an all-day session. The inves-tors, who hoped to raise support for tiger farming, faced fierce opposition from various critics for continuing to seek legalisation of tiger-part sales.

As few as 3,000 tigers remain in the wild—making them one of Earth’s most endangered animals. Meanwhile, at least 6,000 live in captivity on Chinese tiger farms. China’s 1993 ban on trade in tiger parts and products has not discouraged the owners of these farms. Hoping to

someday make a large profit from the sale of tiger parts, they are pressuring the Chinese government to lift its trade ban. In the meantime, they operate the farms as tourist attractions.

Tiger bone and other tiger products were once used in Traditional Chinese Medi-cine, sometimes called TCM. Peng Wu, a farm investor, asserted, “Tiger bone products benefit human health. For many centuries, they have relieved pain for people with ailments.”

However, the TCM community has developed alternative remedies that do not use tiger ingredients. Ming Li, an expert from the World TCM Asso-ciation, stated, “Traditional Chinese

Medicine has great respect for nature. Tiger farming goes against everything we stand for. To support the use of tiger bone in medicine would harm TCM’s reputation around the world.”

An estimated 800 to 1,000 tigers are born each year on tiger farms. The farm owners claim to be helping to protect tigers from extinction. “These tigers are alive because of us,” said farm owner Ho Jin.

However, as Deepak Gupta, a wildlife expert in India, noted, “Because the tigers on these farms are semi-tame, they lack the survival skills to ever be released into the wild.”

Asian conservationists believe that Chinese tiger farms are putting tigers at further risk. Chat Khorsky, a leader in anti-poaching efforts in the Russian Far East, asserted that captive breeding of tigers for trade encourages poaching. Khorsky stated, “It is much cheaper to fill a demand for tiger parts by shooting a wild tiger than by raising a captive tiger. The only solution is to eliminate the demand.”

While the session in New Delhi marked a step forward in bringing opposing groups together for discussion, the debate is likely to continue as long as tiger farms and the desire for tiger parts exist.

Tiger farms in China under fireConference session sparks heated debate on controversial facilities

Rows of small cages at a tiger farm in China

Daily GazetteNORTH INDIA

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A drugged tiger on a farm in China©

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This article is based on real issues and events. However the conference it describes and the people it quotes are fictitious.

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Worksheet 1: Reading/view

ing guide

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1. How many wild tigers are thought to exist in the world today?q a) about 3,000q b) about 100,000q c) about 25 million

2. Which physical feature makes wild tigers strong swimmers?q a) flat tails q b) webbed feetq c) glands in their paws

3. Tiger stripe patterns are unique to each individual tiger.q a) Trueq b) False

4. How much do the heaviest adult tigers weigh?q a) about 68 kgq b) about 270 kgq c) about 450 kg

5. What best describes the effect that a healthy wild tiger population has on an ecosystem?q a) A healthy wild tiger population makes

an ecosystem less diverse because tigers eat so many other animals.

q b) A healthy wild tiger population has no effect on an ecosystem because wild tigers stay away from other animals.

q c) A healthy wild tiger population makes an ecosystem more stable because wild tigers are important to its web of life.

6. Which of the following tiger subspecies is now extinct?q a) Bengal tiger q b) Caspian tigerq c) Amur (Siberian) tiger

7. Which of the following is NOT an effective way to help wild tigers?q a) keeping tigers on farmsq b) educating children about tigers and other wildlife at schoolq c) supporting wildlife patrol teams in India

8. What are three different reasons for the disappearance of wild tigers?

_______________________________________

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9. Why do you think people still hunt wild tigers?

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10. What are two things you can do to help save wild tigers?

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Worksheet 3: DVD quiz

Name __________________________________________________________ Date: ___________________________

What have you learned from the film you just watched? Answer the questions below.

Answers: 1. a; 2. b; 3. a; 4. b; 5. c; 6. b; 7. a; 8. Answers may include: habitat destruction, removal or hunting of prey, poaching for the sale of body parts, climate change effects, or conflicts between people and tigers living in the same area; 9–10. It’s your decision!

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Glossaryailments: sickness, injuries or other signs of poor health

black market: a system of illegal buying and selling

conservation: the protection and careful use of something, such as a natural resource or species

ecosystems: interacting communities of plants, animals and the non-living components of the environments in which these plants and animals live

endangered: in danger of dying out completely

extinct: no longer living or existing (as in a species that no longer exists on Earth)

food webs: diagrams that show how energy moves between living things in an ecosystem as the living things eat one another

habitat fragmentation: the process of breaking up a habitat into smaller and more disconnected patches, which often happens when humans build roads and homes, farm and log forests.

keystone species: species that strongly affect the structure and function of an ecosystem

law enforcement: activities that ensure that laws are followed

legalisation: the process of making some activity legal

opposing: disagreeing with, or arguing against, a different viewpoint or practice

poaching: hunting or illegally taking animals

smuggle: to bring materials across a border illegally

tiger reserves: areas of land where tigers are protected

20

Download additional copies, supporting resources, and multilingual versions online at IFAW.org/education-uk

“Wild tigers are in trouble. Together, we can save them”.

–Leonardo DiCaprio

Born to Be WildBorn to Be WildSaving the Majestic Tiger

Teaching Guide and Lessons

Primary Edition (Ages 8-10)

Supported by:

How to Use This ProgrammeBorn to Be Wild: Saving the Majestic Tiger aims to educate students about the characteristics of wild tigers, the threats to their survival, and the actions people are taking to save tigers and their habitats worldwide. The programme includes age-appropriate student readings as well as corresponding lesson plans, graphic organisers, and supplements available on the companion DVD or online (ifaw.org/education-uk). One possible approach to using the materials follows.

1. Introduce Topic Lesson 1, Companion DVDThe teacher uses a brief paired discussion and initial viewing of the film to build background and tap into students’ prior knowledge about tigers.

2. Develop Content Knowledge Lesson 1, Companion DVD, Worksheets 1 and 4 (optional)Students use a graphic organiser to record their thinking as they view the film, jotting down key points, important vocabulary, and questions they have. Following the viewing, students discuss their ideas in groups. They will return to the graphic organiser at the end of the programme as they view the film once more. They may also take the short film quiz (Worksheet 4).

3. Read Content Pages Lesson 1, Worksheet 1 (optional)The teacher uses suggestions from Lesson 1 to prepare students to read, based on their reading abilities. During reading, students use a graphic organiser for guidance.

4. Conduct Selected Lesson Activities and Worksheets Lessons 2–4, Content Pages 3–7, News Article, Worksheets 2–3 (optional)The teacher chooses from lessons designed to consolidate understanding after reading the content pages. Lesson 2 focuses on scientific concepts introduced on pages 3 and 4; Lesson 3 guides students to consider the key threats and conservation activities introduced on pages 5–7; Lesson 4 outlines a debating activity for students to examine points of view on the issue of tiger farming from the news article. Bonus content and a worksheet focused on big cat comparisons are also included.

5. Consolidate Learning Companion DVD, Graphic OrganiserUsing the completed graphic organiser from their first viewing, students compare their understanding of the topic from the beginning of the programme to the end of the programme.

6. Take Action (Lessons, Take Action Leaflet)In addition to actions described in lesson extensions, additional possibilities for students to take action on wild tiger issues will be provided in the supplementary flyer on this topic.

Suggestions for Informal EducatorsAs an alternative to conducting the lessons in this education pack, you may choose to use materials as follows.1. Watch the Companion Film.2. Take the short Film Quiz.3. Engage in a fun, creative activity from the Young Tiger Activity Sheet.4. Take a group action from the Take Action Leaflet.

Contents3 Content Pages 3 Born to Be Wild/Why Tigers Matter 4 Tigers Under Threat 5 Focus Country: India 6 Focus Country: China 7 Focus Country: Russia/Extinction Is Forever

8 Lesson Plans 8 Lesson 1: Viewing the Video/Reading the Content Pages 9 Lesson 2: Creating a Tiger Food Web 10 Lesson 3: Identifying Threats and Responses 11 Lesson 4: Debating Tiger Farms

12 NewsArticle:TigerfarmsinChinaunderfire

13 Worksheet 1: Reading/Viewing Guide

14 Worksheet 2: Threats and Responses Chart

15 Other Big Cats Around the World

16 Worksheet 3: Big Cat Comparisons

17 Worksheet 4: Video Quiz

Animal Action EducationEach year, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) launches a new Animal Action education programme focusing on a different theme related to animals and the environment. Free educational materials include: this information pack of content pages, teacher lesson plans, and student worksheets; a companion film and interactive DVD; a calendar poster; and a leaflet with extension ideas for individual, group, and community activities.

Learning ObjectivesThe lessons in this programme can be adapted for Key Stage 1 and 2 curricula, including Geography, Science, English and Personal, Social and Health Outcomes. Among other programme goals, students will learn life science concepts and vocabulary, practise purposeful reading and comprehension strategies, and conduct a debate based on points of view from a simulated news article.

Companion DVDThe educational film runs for approximately 15 minutes and is appropriate for general youth audiences. The DVD also includes PDF documents of all programme materials, plus supporting resources.

Online References• Fun animal activities, fact sheets, photos, and more:

www.ifaw.org/animal-action-uk

• IUCN Cats Specialist Group: http://www.catsg.org/catsgportal/20_catsg-website/home/index_en.htm

• Global Tiger Initiative: http://www.globaltigerinitiative.org/

• International Tiger Coalition: http://www.endtigertrade.org/

• Global Tiger Forum: http://www.globaltiger.org/

• Earn Your Stripes (an interactive virtual action centre). Learn about tigers, take action and earn fun prizes: www.ifaw.org/earnyourstripes

Ground Rules ActivityPrior to discussions that may involve strong views or feelings, many teachers and students like to develop ground rules within their classrooms to promote positive listening, respect, and sensitivity to different points of view.

Ask the class to pair up and answer the following question: “How do people behavetowardsmethatmakesmefeelconfidentandcomfortabletotalkwiththem about things that really matter to me?”

Ask the pairs to move into groups of six and share their ideas. Ask them to make a list of the behaviours that all six can understand and agree with. These may include:

1. They listen to me.2. They don’t laugh.3. They don’t shout what I say to other people.

Gather the whole class and ask each group to report their list—one behaviour at a time. Check for understanding and agreement with the whole class. Only write down those that everybody accepts and understands.

Steer the group towards identifying clearly observable behaviours rather than broad concepts. Display the list as a means to encourage individuals to take responsibility for their actions within the group.

More copies and additional resources available online at ifaw.org/education-uk

© IFAW 2010 • Front cover images: © IFAW/A. Mookerjee; © Digitalvision

© IFAW/A. Mookerjee

magine that you are a huge, reddish-orange cat covered in bold black stripes. You’d be a tiger, of course—one of Earth’s most beautiful and amazing animals.

Every tiger has a different pattern of stripes. These patterns help tigers hide in the forests and grasslands where most of them live.

For thousands of years, these big, striped cats have been symbols of beauty, charm, luck, and power. Tigers are also important to the ecosystems—communities of plants, animals, and environments—in the places where they live.

A mother tiger usually has two or three cubs. Cubs stay with their mothers for two years or more. Other than mothers with cubs, adult tigers usually live alone. They live for 10 to 15 years in the wild.

Fur: helps keep body temperature steady; in cold places, coat grows longer in winter than in summer

Ears: white spots on backs of ears may help cubs follow mother through dense forests

Stripes: help tigers hide

Eyes: powerful vision for hunting in dim light

Legs: can run 35–40 mph (55–65 kph), but tigers rely on hiding and surprise, not speed, to catch animals to eat Face/nose/mouth:

tigers communicate through smell and sounds (some heard as far away as three miles); whiskers help tigers feel their way through their habitats

Why Tigers MatterTigers are important meat eaters within their food webs. Protecting tigers helps to protect many other living things. Today, tigers need protecting as well. There are only a few thousand tigers alive in the wild worldwide, and they are dangerously close to disappearing forever.

Many types of tigers once lived in different habitats across Asia. Now wild tigers only live in certain small areas. These areas have large, hoofed animals—such as deer and wild pigs—that are tigers’ main foods. The places where tigers live need to have water as well as dense plants that help them hide while hunting.

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Current

Tigers Under ThreatIn the twentieth century, three types of tigers disappeared—or became extinct—forever: Caspian tigers, Javan tigers, and Bali tigers. A fourth type, the South China tiger, may also no longer live in the wild. All of the surviving types of tigers are endangered, and as few as 3,000 tigers remain in the wild. Most of these are Bengal tigers. The other kinds of wild tigers alive today are Amur (or Siberian) tigers, Indochinese tigers, and Sumatran tigers.

Tigers are in danger for several reasons. One reason is that more humans are moving into their habitats. People are replacing wild lands with houses, roads, and farms. This is forcing wild tigers to live in small ‘islands’ of habitat

Tigers in Captivity

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Around the world thousands of tigers are kept in cages and behind bars. In China, tiger farms keep about 6,000 tigers to breed them for parts and products (see page 6). In the U.S.A., there are between 5,000 and 10,000 captive tigers. Many are kept as pets and live in cramped and miserable conditions. These tigers cannot be released to the wild because they do not have the skills they need to survive.

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Tigers are symbols of strength and courage. These same qualities make tigers into targets for hunters and wildlife traders. IFAW works to protect wild tigers from poaching, illegal trade, and habitat loss.

that are not connected—a process called habitat fragmentation. As habitat fragmentation increases, tigers have a harder time surviving.

Another problem for wild tigers is food. People are hunting the same animals that tigers depend upon. When they cannot find wild animals to hunt, tigers may wander into villages to eat cows and other livestock. More contact with humans often leads to more deaths for both tigers and people.

The most direct danger to wild tigers is the illegal buying and selling of their body parts. Tigers are illegally poached—poisoned, trapped, and shot—because some people will pay high prices for tiger parts such as bones, skins, and meat.

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INDIA

BANGLADESH

Sundarbans

Focus Country: IndiaMore wild tigers live in India than anywhere else. At the beginning of the twentieth century, about 40,000 tigers lived there. However, in 2009, as few as 1,411 tigers were left.

Tiger shooting was banned in India in 1970. In 1973, the government of India started Project Tiger to save its remaining tigers. Project Tiger began by setting aside nine large forested areas as tiger reserves. By 2009, the number of tiger reserves in India had grown to 37.

Wild tigers need the right kind of habitat to survive. They also need protection from poaching. Thousands of wildlife guards now protect tigers from poachers in the reserves. Guards also work along India’s borders to stop illegal trade in tiger parts with other countries.

Climate Change

Climate change is putting the habitat of a large group of wild tigers in danger. The sea level is rising worldwide due to ice melting and other warming effects. The rising water threatens to flood the swampy forests along India’s border with Bangladesh. If nothing changes, scientists predict that the forests there will disappear within 50 to 90 years. If the forests disappear, the tigers that live in them will vanish as well.

IFAW played an important part in bringing tigers back to India’s Sariska Tiger Reserve after poachers killed all of its wild tigers. IFAW has also trained and suppliednearly5,000anti-poachingofficersinIndia.

Project Tiger has helped to protect more than tiger habitat. It has also encouraged people to use land more wisely and to help maintain ecosystems with many forms of life. This effort in India shows that doing good things for tigers is often good for humans and other animals as well.

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The dark green on this map shows the swampy Sundarbans area where tigers live. This area is less than one metre (3.28 feet) above sea level in most places.

Focus Country: ChinaExperts believe that China was the birthplace of the world’s first tigers two million years ago. Very few, if any, wild tigers live in China today but more than 6,000 tigers live on tiger farms there. The farms are allowed to stay open to put on tiger shows for visitors but the owners of the farms also breed tigers and kill them to make medicines and other products. They can make a lot of money selling these products.

China has had a law against buying and selling tiger parts and products since 1993 yet people still buy and sell tiger products today. Tiger-farm owners want the law to change to allow them to sell more. They argue that people still want to buy the products. They say that it would be better for people to buy products made from farmed tiger parts than from wild tiger parts. They claim that this will help protect wild tigers.

People who work to protect wild tigers disagree. They point out that the buyers of tiger products think wild tiger products have stronger effects than farmed tiger products. Because of this, poachers can make a lot of money killing wild tigers and selling their parts. Tiger protection groups argue that making it legal to sell the products will simply cause more poaching.

The sale of any dead tiger puts wild tigers in danger so conservation groups keep pushing for stronger laws and better law enforcement in order to reduce the use of tiger parts.

Tiger cubs are separated from their mother at an early age on a tiger farm in China.

Tigers and Traditional Medicine

In many Asian cultures, traditional beliefs say that certain tiger body parts can heal people. People believed that medicine made from tigers would give them strength because tigers are strong animals. Today, people who use traditional medicine recognise the importance of protecting tigers so they have worked to find products to replace the ones made from tiger parts.

Tiger-farm supporters say that tiger parts are needed for traditional medicine. However, the traditional medicine community has said that people should use other medicines that don’t include tiger parts.

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Tiger Cub Rescued

IFAW and other groups in Russia recently helped save an orphaned wild tiger cub. The cub was fed special meals. It was trained to hunt and to keep away from humans. Six months later, it was released in a nature reserve. Most orphaned tiger cubs cannot be released after rescue; they lack the skills needed to survive. The cub was lucky to have a second chance at life in the wild.

Focus Country: RussiaAmur tigers (Siberian tigers) once lived all across the Russian Far East and into China and Korea. By the 1940s, they had all been hunted and killed except for a few in a small corner of Russia. People there worked hard to keep tigers alive in the wild, and their numbers slowly grew.

Then, in the early 1990s, something changed. The number of these tigers started to drop, by as many as 70 tigers per year. One important reason was that poaching had increased in Russia.

IFAW supports tiger patrol teams that protect the Amur tigers remaining in the Russian Far East. There are fewer than 300–400 tigers left in Russia.

To fix this problem, the Russian government and several conservation groups created six teams of people to stop the poaching. The results were amazing. In 1995, only 13 tigers were poached, followed by 18 in 1996. The anti-poaching teams were a huge success.

Wild tigers are still in trouble in Russia. Poaching is still a challenge. However, the anti-poaching teams and new laws are providing important protection for wild tigers in this region.

Extinction Is ForeverTigers are very close to disappearing forever if people do not work to protect them. It is encouraging that people from all the countries where tigers live are beginning to hold meetings about conserving tigers but there is still work to do. People must co-operate to protect tiger habitat, stop poaching, and fight illegal sales of tigers and tiger parts so these magnificent wild animals can be saved.

Every year, the city of Vladivostok in the Russian Far East holds a Tiger Day celebration. It attracts thousands of people and encourages them to protect, not poach, the remaining wild tigers in Russia.

© IF

AW

/M. V

oron

tsov

a

© S

ave

The

Tige

r Fu

nd

© IFA

W/W

. Poole

Main Learning Outcomes: Students will make connections to a text (or film), organise thinking using a graphic organiser, and expand understanding of content and vocabulary related to tigers.

Viewing the FilmBefore/During Viewing1. Help students make connections to prior knowledge by

having them each turn to a partner and talk for a minute about what they know about tigers.

2. Show the film uninterrupted.3. After viewing, ask students if they learned any new infor-

mation about tigers.4. Create a large graphic organiser on a flip chart or on an

overhead transparency.

Reading the Content PagesBefore Reading1. Make a large copy of the graphic organiser and ask stu-

dents to make an individual copy for themselves.2. Ask students to preview the text and predict what they will

read about.3. Choose the way to read the text that is best suited to the

reading level of students: •Readthetextaloudasstudentsfollowalong.

Demonstrate finding the key concepts and recording them on the class graphic organiser.

•Pairgoodreaderswithless-ablereaders.Askthemtoreadand discuss the text together, stopping as they read to write responses on the graphic organiser.

•Askstudentstoindependentlyreadthetext,recordingtheir ideas on their graphic organisers as they read.

•Usetheadaptedversionofthetextforyoungerreaderstoread by themselves or with a partner—or read it to them. Either show how to complete the graphic organiser indi-vidually or complete the group organiser together.

After Reading4. After students have read the text, use the discussion

questions provided in each lesson to help students consoli-date their understanding of the text.

5. Ask students to share their notes from their graphic organisers with the class. Record their ideas on the group graphic organiser.

Adapting the Activity(for younger readers)

Use only the group graphic organiser. As students watch the film for the second time, stop at key places and ask them what they learned. If necessary, tell them the important facts and key vocabulary. As students share ideas, record their responses on the graphic organiser.

STUDENT WORKSHEET • REPRODUCIBLE

Blackline Master 1: Reading/Viewing Guide

Name ______________________________________________________________________ Date: ___________________________________

Directions: As you view the video and read or listen to information about tigers, jot down the key points that you want to remember. List important vocabulary words and write questions that you have.

Tigers

What I Know Questions

Key Words Key Ideas

5. Ask each student to make a copy of the graphic organiser for personal use. On their graphic organisers, ask stu-dents to jot down any questions from their first viewing of the film. Ask them to write one or two important facts they know about tigers.

6. Tell students you want them to listen for key words and ideas in the film as they view it again. Ask them to jot these down on the graphic organiser.

7. Let students watch the film and record their ideas.

After Viewing8. Have students take the optional Film Quiz worksheet.

Place students in small groups. Ask them to discuss the film using the notes they have jotted down on their indi-vidual graphic organisers.

9. Call the groups together and let them share ideas while you record their thoughts on the large graphic organiser on a flip chart or on the transparency.

10. Save the chart or transparency. Explain that at the end of the unit, students will view the film one more time to see if any of their thoughts have changed.

Extending the Activity(for advanced readers)

Assign different pages to different groups. Ask each group to read and discuss the pages, and record ideas on a group graphic organiser. Encourage students to look for additional information about their topic in the library and in online references. Ask each group to share their understandings with the whole class.

Vocabulary Development1. Word Highlights: Ask students to use different

colours to highlight the words on their graphic organisers that they are able to explain to a partner.

2. Word Experts: Make pairs of students responsible for a word. They can teach the class about the word using a flip chart or an overhead transparency.

Word: ____________________ Describe the word: _____________________ ____________________________________ Draw a picture of the word:

© IFAW/A. Mooke

rjee

Lesson1

8

Key Vocabularyecosystemsendangeredextinctfood webshabitat fragmentationkeystone species*poached

*Secondary Teaching Guide only

Main Learning Outcome: Students will understand the ecological concept of a food web.

Discussion Questions(pages 3–4)

• Inwhat ways are tigers well suited to their wild environment?

•Whyisitimportanttosavetigersinwild environments rather than in captivity?

• Howmight people reduce the threats to wild tigers identified on page 4?

Creating a Tiger Food WebAfter Reading (pages 3–4)

1. Reinforce the Key Vocabulary. Say the following: An ecosystem is an interacting community of plants and animals and the non-living components of the environment in which they live. Food webs show how energy moves between living things within an ecosystem as they eat one another. In general, energy flows from producers to consumers to decomposers. For example, plants create energy from sunlight. Deer get energy by eating the plants. Wolves get energy by eating the deer, while owls get energy by eating mice. When wolves and owls die, bac-teria, fungi, and scavengers return their nutrients to the soil for the plants to use.

2. Tell students that they will create food webs for a Bengal tiger in India (the most common wild tiger), using infor-mation from the text. Pair students with differing abilities and give each pair a set of index cards. Ask them to create one card for each of the following animals: tigers, deer, wild pigs, birds, monkeys, fish, elephants, rhinos, bears (which tigers will oust from dens), leopards, reptiles, insects, and worms.

3. The text says that tiger habitats have ‘dense’ plant growth. Ask students to add cards for plant foods that might be found in a tiger’s food web in India, such as grasses (eaten most by deer, pigs, elephants, rhinos); flowers, fruits, berries, nuts (birds, pigs, monkeys); and tree leaves (mostly elephants).

Adapting the Activity(for younger readers)

• Discusswhatafoodwebmightlooklikeinanecosystemcloser to where students live. Even in urban areas, students can consider the food webs within a park—for example, connec-tions between grasses, insects, small birds, hawks, and so on. Omit discussion of energy flows as too complex for this level.

• Insteadofmakingfoodwebs,discusstigeradaptations.Usethe diagram from page 3 as a starting point. Encourage stu-dents to learn about and report back on the body features that make wild tigers well suited to their environments.

4. Ask each pair to put its cards on a large sheet of chart paper, with any plants roughly at the bottom and the tiger near the top. Tell them to pencil arrows in the direction of any organism that eats another one. Ask students what the arrows show about energy flow (flows are complex; most flow toward tiger). Monitor students’ progress.

5. Once students are satisfied with their food webs, let them glue their cards to the sheets to make food-web posters. Then ask for a few teams to volunteer to present their food webs to the whole group. Presenters should be praised for any logical connections, but their peers should also be encouraged to suggest revisions.

6. Ask students to consider what needs to be protected to support a tiger’s food web. Point out that a tiger feeds on various animals that in turn depend on many plants. Guide students to recognise that protecting tigers means protecting habitats and therefore other animals.

7. Place an index card labelled ‘humans’ at the top of one of the students’ webs. Ask students to share their thoughts on how humans might also affect tiger food webs (for example, by eliminating habitats, competing for their foods, or hunting tigers).

8. Ask each student to write a brief paragraph summarising what he or she learned from the activity. Encourage them to use effective writing techniques, such as writing a topic sentence and supporting it with examples.

Extending the Activity(for advanced readers)

• Askstudentstowritesentencesbesidetheirfood-webarrows to explain more fully the relationships and flow of energy between organisms consuming one another (this may require research).

• Askstudentstoresearchandcreatediagramssimilartothe one on page 3 to show the adaptations of some other animal for its environment (for example, a polar bear has thick fur and fat for the cold Arctic, broad feet for spread-ing weight on ice, and so on).

• Askstudentstoresearchtheconceptofhabitatfragmenta-tion (from page 4) and write about how an animal near where they live is cut off by limited passage between habi-tat areas (for example, roads cut off wildlife corridors).

9

FOR MORE INFORMATIONAction Tiger Conservation: http://199.79.62.14/~wtior33y/publications/action-tiger.pdf

© Save T

he Ti

ger F

und

Lesson2

Key Vocabularyblack market*conservationlaw enforcementtiger reservessmuggle*

*Secondary Teaching Guide only

Main Learning Outcomes: Students will understand main threats to tigers, locate text information, identify main ideas and supporting details, and identify prob-lems and solutions.

Discussion Questions(pages 5–7)

•Whydoestheauthor write that “what’s good for tigers is often good for everyone” on page 5?

•Whydoesahigherdemandfortigerproductsingeneralleadtomore poaching of wild tigers?

•Whydocountries need to coordinate with one another to protect wild tigers?

Identifying Threats and ResponsesAfter Reading (pages 5–7)

1. Review the ‘Tigers Under Threat’ section on page 4. Help students find the threats to wild tigers mentioned in the last three paragraphs on this page (loss of habitat due to human population growth, lack of prey species due to hunting, poaching for sale of body parts).

2. On a flip chart or an overhead transparency, create a whole-group chart similar to the one shown below.

3. Ask students to review each page that describes a focus country (pages 5–7). Ask them to work in pairs to record what the main threats are to wild tigers in each country, what sentence support their conclusions, and what people are doing about the threats. Encourage them to read the

captions and sidebars on each page, as these often indicate what people are doing about the threats. Allow students time to discuss their thoughts in pairs. Students who want to work ahead may address the final column of the chart, but they are not required to do so while working in their pairs.

4. Ask students to return to the larger group. Ask for volun-teers to say what they named as the threats to wild tigers in each focus country. Encourage them to read the supporting statements from the text. Take notes on the whole-group chart in the ‘Threats’, ‘Supporting Statements’, and ‘What People Are Doing’ columns.

5. Discuss as a whole group what more people could be doing to save wild tigers. Prompt students to think about what governments might do, what conservation groups might do, and what individuals might do. Write responses on the group chart. Ask students what they them-selves could do. To complete the lesson, or as homework, ask your students to ‘Imagine a world without tigers’ in an essay, poem, story, piece of art, song, or other creative expression.

Adapting the Activity(for younger readers)

• Youngerreaderscouldrecordsimplernotesintheircharts, such as page numbers rather than quotations for ‘Supporting Statements’. You might also choose to con-duct more of the lesson as a whole-class discussion rather than as partner work.

• Bringalocalfocustooneofthethreatsaffectingwildtigers, such as habitat loss. Ask students if they know how this threat affects wildlife in their area. Provide them with an example, if necessary. Discuss what people are doing about the threats and what more they might do.

• Insteadoffocusingonthethreatstowildtigers,focus on the final creative activity in this lesson (to imagine a world without tigers). Allow students more time for their creative responses.

Extending the Activity(for advanced readers)

• Askstudentstoworkindividuallywitha‘ThreatsandResponses’ chart. Tell them to write several sentences for each threat they identify.

• Encouragestudentstoconductfurtherresearchintothreatsin one of the focus countries or in a country that appears to have tigers but is not discussed in the text (such as Malaysia).

Wild Tigers—Threats and Responses

Country ThreatsSupporting Statements

What People Are Doing About the

Threats

What More We Could All Do

About the Threats

India

China

Russia

Other

© IFAW

/W. P

oole

FOR MORE INFORMATION

IFAW: ww.ifaw.org/tigers

World Bank Report: Building a Future for Wild Tigers: http://www.worldbank.org/tigers

Lesson3

Main Learning Outcome: Students will present points of view in debate, drawing on a text stimulus.

Discussion Questions(page 12)

• Thewritersays in this article that people argued at a meeting. What are the outcomes that people from each side wanted from the meeting?

• DoyouthinkthatthetraditionalChinesemedicinecommunitygaveuptooeasily on defending its traditions? Why or why not?

• Basedontheendofthearticle,whymightthewriterthinkitisunlikelythatthe two sides will come to agreement soon?

Debating Tiger FarmsBefore Reading (page 12)

1. Introduce the news article to students. Emphasise that this is not a real newspaper article, but that it is based on real events and real issues around tiger farming in China. Ask students to recall information they learned from the rest of the text about tiger farming in China (from page 6). If they have developed graphic organisers for that previous content, let them review these now.

2. Discuss the photographs, captions, and headings in the article and ask students to predict what the article will be about. Point out that the first paragraph of a news article usually gives the most important information, so they should pay special attention to this when they read. Set a purpose for reading: tell students to look carefully at what people say on either side of the tiger-farming debate.

3. Ask students to read the article individually or in pairs, depending on their abilities. You can also read the article aloud with the whole class.

After Reading (page 12)

4. Read the final paragraph of the article aloud to the whole class. Tell students that they will role-play a ‘follow-up conference’ with the same sides of the debate as are rep-resented in the article. Divide the class into groups that represent the ‘for farming’ side, the ‘against farming’ side, ‘moderators’ (explain the term, if needed), and ‘reporters’. Assign the groups at random and ask

students to do as well as they can presenting their roles, even if they do not completely agree with them.

5. Ask the student groups to reread the article to find the arguments ‘for’ and ‘against’. Let them choose one mem-ber as a note-taker who can keep a simple two-column chart for the arguments. Monitor and help the groups find the article’s main points for debate. Emphasise that good debaters find the main arguments for their own side as well as for the other side, so they can prepare for the other group’s arguments. If time allows, encourage students to practise delivering their arguments. Tell the reporters and moderators that they need to know both sides well.

6. Stage the ‘follow-up conference’ in which the ‘for’ and ‘against’ teams present their arguments. The teams might choose members to play the roles of the people named in the article or they might choose to have each member take 30 seconds to present parts of the team argument. Remind moderators to make sure the discussion stays respectful. Ask the reporters to take notes and then give a balanced ‘TV report’ on it, without saying who ‘won’.

7. After the debate and reports, gather the whole class together again to discuss what they learned about the sides in the debate, whether their opinions changed, and how they feel about the issue in the end. You might choose to take a secret ballot at this point to see how the class feels overall.

Extending the Activity(for advanced readers)

• Askstudentstowritenewspaperarticlesoftheirown,based upon the discussion they had rather than the con-ference in the original text. Ask that they structure their articles by giving general information in the first para-graph and then filling in details.

• Challengestudentstoworkindividuallyoringroupstodraft proposals for resolving the debate.

• Encouragestudentswhofeelstronglytowritelettersto real people and groups involved in the tiger-farming debate. Help them make their letters persuasive.

Key Vocabularyailments*conference*legalisation*opposing

*Secondary Teaching Guide only

Lesson4

Adapting the Activity(for younger readers)

• Asanalternativetothedebateactivity,letyoungerreaderscomplete the optional Big Cat Comparisons worksheet

11

© IFAW

/A. M

ooke

rjee

FOR MORE INFORMATIONIFAW Special Report: Farming Tigers to Extinctionwww.ifaw.org/tigers

Irish Times: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2010/0320/1224266695473.html

12

NEW DELHI, INDIA — Tiger farms were a main subject of discussion at the recent All-Asia Conservation meeting here this week. At this meeting, conservationists argued with tiger-farm owners, who had hoped to raise support for tiger farming. The two sides continue to disagree.As few as 3,000 tigers now live in the wild, but at least 6,000 live in cages on Chinese tiger farms. In 1993, China passed a law banning trade in tiger parts and products. Tiger-farm owners want the law changed so they can earn money selling tiger parts. For now, they run the farms as tourist parks.

Farm owners argue that tiger bones and other tiger products have historically been used in traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM. They argue that making tiger medicines legal could help many sick people get healthy. “Tiger-bone products are good for human

health. They have eased pain for many centuries”, said farm owner Peng Wu.Traditional medicine experts, however, say that they have other products that do not use tiger parts. Ming Li of the World TCM Group said, “Traditional Chinese medicine has great respect for nature. Tiger farming is against everything we believe in”.

Up to 1,000 tigers are born each year on tiger farms. Owners claim to be helping protect tigers from dying out by preserving them on farms. “Because of us, these tigers are alive”, said farm owner Ho Jin.Conservationists believe, however, that tiger farms will never help wild tiger populations. They say that farmed tigers lack the survival skills to ever live successfully in the wild. Other conservationists argue that no tiger parts should ever be sold, even if they are from farms. Chat Khorsky, an anti-poaching leader, said, “Breeding tigers encourages poaching. It is much cheaper to fill a demand for tiger parts by shooting a wild tiger than by raising a tiger. The only solution is to end the use of tiger products”.The meeting in New Delhi was a step forward in bringing opposing groups together for discussion. The argument is likely to continue, however, as long as there are tiger farms and tiger products.

Tiger farms in China under fireInternational meeting leads to arguments about tiger farming

A drugged tiger on a farm in China

Daily GazetteNORTH INDIA

Rows of small cages at a tiger farm in China

© IF

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This article is based on real issues and events, though the conference it describes and the people it quotes are fictitious.

© IF

AW

13

Worksheet 1: Reading/View

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Lion (Panthera leo) • ‘Vulnerable’:estimated10,000–23,000lionsinAfrica

• UsedtoliveinmostpartsofAfrica;nowfoundonlyinthesouthern Sahara Desert and parts of southern and eastern Africa

• Onetypeoflion(Asiaticlion)veryendangered;fewerthan400remain

Jaguar (Panthera onca) • ‘NearThreatened’:unknownnumberinSouthAmerica,CentralAmerica, southwestern United States

• SouthAmerica’slargestcat;oncelivedthroughoutSouthandCentral America

• Today,highnumbersfoundonlyinafewplaces,includingtheAmazon basin

Leopard (Panthera

pardus)• ‘NearThreatened’:unknownnumberinAfricaandAsia

• OncecommoninallpartsofAfricaexceptSaharaDesert

• NowgonefrommostpartsofnorthernAfrica

• Koreanleopard(alsoknownasAmurleopard)veryendangered;fewer than 50 remain

Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)

• ‘Vulnerable’:between7,500–10,000cheetahsremaininAfricaand Iran

• Hasdisappearedfromhugeareasofearlierrange

• AsiaticcheetahnowknowntosurviveonlyinIran

Snow leopard (Panthera uncia)

• ‘Endangered’:about4,000–6,500snowleopardsinthewild

• RangenowlimitedtohighmountainsofCentralAsia

• Expertssuggestsnowleopardspopulationdroppedatleast 20 per cent over past two generations (16 years)

• Mainthreats:poachingforillegaltrade,conflictwithlocalpeople

• Snowleopardistiger’sclosestcatcousin

Mountain lion, or Puma (Puma concolor)

• ‘Leastconcern’:about30,000inNorthAmericanWest,Centraland South America

• WipedoutfromeasternhalfofNorthAmericawithin200yearsof when first Europeans arrived

• Onetypeofmountainlion(Floridapanther)veryendangered;fewer than 100 remain

* Conservation status according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. See www.iucnredlist.org for more.

© IF

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Lion (Panthera leo) •‘Vulnerable’:estimated10,000–23,000lionsinAfrica•UsedtoliveinmostpartsofAfrica;nowfoundonlyinthesouthern

Sahara Desert and parts of southern and eastern Africa•HistoricallyfoundinAfricaandfromGreecethroughMiddleEast

to northern India •Asiaticlion,asubspecies,iscriticallyendangered;fewerthan400

remain in India

Jaguar (Panthera onca) •‘NearThreatened’:unknownnumberinSouthAmerica,CentralAmerica,southwestern United States•SouthAmerica’slargestcats;onceroamedthroughoutSouthand

Central America•Today,significantnumbersfoundonlyinremotepartsofSouthandCentralAmerica—particularlyinAmazonbasin;raresightingsnearMexico –U.S. border

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pardus)•‘NearThreatened’:unknownnumberinAfricaandAsia•Nootherwildcathassuchawidespreadrangeanddiversepreybase,

but leopard still under threat in many regions•OncecommoninallpartsofAfricaexceptSaharaDesert•NowgonefrommostpartsofnorthernAfrica,apartfromafewareas ofAtlasMountains;extremelyscarceinwesternAfrica•SoutheastAsiaandIndiathreats:hunting,habitatloss•SeveralsubspeciesoncecommoninMiddleEastnowallbutextinct;

Korean leopard, also known as Amur leopard, extremely rare in wild

Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)

•‘Vulnerable’:estimated7,500–10,000cheetahsremaininAfricaandIran•Hasdisappearedfromhugeareasofhistoricrange;stilloccurswidely,

but sparsely, in Africa (disappearing from 76 per cent of African range)•InAsia,haslostalmostallofvasthistoricrange,whichwithinlast

century extended from shores of the Mediterranean and Arabian Peninsula to northern shores of Caspian and Aral Seas and west into central India•AsiaticcheetahnowknowntosurviveonlyinIran

Snow leopard (Panthera uncia)

•‘Endangered’:about4,000–6,500snowleopardsinthewild,worldwide•RangenowrestrictedtohighmountainsofCentralAsia•Requirelarge,low-densityhabitats•Expertssuggestsnowleopardpopulationdeclinedatleast20percent

over past two generations (16 years)•Mainthreatsarepoachingforillegaltrade,conflictwithlocalpeople•Snowleopardistiger’sclosestcatcousin

Mountain lion, or Puma (Puma concolor)

•‘LeastConcern’:around30,000inNorthAmericanWest,CentralandSouth America•Largestofanyland-basedmammalinWesternHemisphere•EliminatedfromeasternhalfofNorthAmericawithin200years

of first European colonisation•EndangeredsubpopulationpersistsinFlorida;recordsofpumasin

northeastern Canada and the eastern U.S. rising•Floridapanther,asubspecies,criticallyendangered;fewerthan100

remain

*Conservation status according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. See www.iucnredlist.org for more.

© IF

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•Wheredoeseachcatlive?

•Whatdoeseachcatlooklike?

•Whatiseachcat’sconservationstatus?