Analysis by Zahra Hirji
Wed Jul 14, 2010 12:56 PM ET 

Imagine a world without tigers. These majestic big cats may dominate our culture and imaginations (Tony the Tiger of Frosted Flakes' fame, Tigger from "Winnie the Pooh," Jasmine’s pet tiger in "Aladdin" and Mike Tyson’s tiger in "The Hangover," to name a few), but in real life, these animals are sliding towards extinction. 

According to the World’s Wildlife Foundation (WWF), there are just 3,200 wild tigers left in the world. Inspired by 2010 being the Chinese Year of the Tiger, WWF is running a massive campaign to foster tiger population growth. 

Over a century ago, around 100,000 of these big cats roamed across Asian forests, from eastern Russia to China to Indonesia. Since then, four species have gone extinct, and the remaining six are all on the IUCN’s critically endangered list.

The South China tiger is the closest to extinction: 47 live in zoos and a few linger in wilderness. Poachers, looking to sell tiger bones for medicinal purposes, have ravaged the population. 

In 1993, China banned the international trade of tiger parts, but enforcement of the law has typically been weak.