Tiger Parts: Bones

That's right! Tiger bone is the most valuable part of tigers in the market. Since ancient times, Chinese medical texts have recommended tiger bone as a cure for joint pain and stiffness, back pain, rheumatism, and muscle spasms.

Ancient Chinese texts also recommended various other tiger body parts as the cure for many illnesses and health concerns. According to these traditions, tiger eyes improve your vision. Tiger whiskers cure toothaches. Tiger penises make tigers of men. These beliefs are deeply embedded in Chinese culture and cannot be changed quickly or easily.

Tiger bone, however, is the only part still recommended by modern Chinese medicine. The calcium and protein in tiger bone is believed to be more powerful than that in the bone of other cats such as leopards. Some Chinese scientists are studying the bone of dogs and a small burrowing rodent called the pika as an alternative to tiger bone.

To prepare tiger bone as medicine, it is cleaned, toasted in oil or vinegar, and then ground into powder. The powder is made into pills or plaster or soaked in wine.

What other parts of the tiger sell for a lot of money?

Skin | Eyeballs | Bones | Whiskers | Stomach | Brain

Back to Tiger Trade Introduction