Tiger (1970) 1

Today’s non-holiday bears an urgency for the third largest cat on Earth.

International Tiger Day is to recognize the plight of the Panthera tigris. A staggering 97 percent of all wild tigers have disappeared in the past century. At present, only about 3,000 remain.

Those numbers continue to decline due to habitat loss, climate change, hunting and poaching. It is believed only about seven-percent of tiger habitats exist today.

Tiger (1970) 1

International Tiger Day is celebrated to raise awareness of these majestic animals. India has the largest tiger population in the world; only fitting the country inaugurated Project Tiger in 1973 to revive the big cat population. Currently the largest reserve in India is the Nagarjunsagar-Srisaliam Tiger Reserve.

Bud Blake serves up a more human face for the non-holiday. His Tiger began as a comic strip May 3, 1965, based on boyhood friendships. King Feature Syndicate distributed the strip to 400 newspapers worldwide.

The strip ran until 2004, a year before Blake’s death who drew until he was 85.

The National Cartoonists Society awarded Tiger the Best Humor Strip award in 1970, 1978 and 2000. It was also nominated in 1998.

Charlton Comics featured the tyke in eight issues of a comic book version of the newspaper strip. The book ran from 1970 to 1971.

While the Tiger of newspaper fame has passed with his creator, there is no reason the tigers of today’s commemoration have to follow.

The World Wildlife Fund offers the ability to adopt a tiger with various levels of donations ranging from $25 to $250.

By adopting a tiger, donations ensure continued work to protect the endangered species.

Please consider offering a fellow living organism the opportunity for continued existence.