This painting was done as a fund-raiser for CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna). CITES’ long-term objective is the rational and sustainable utilization of the Earth’s living resources for human benefit by encouraging cooperation between all interested parties. Although habitat destruction is the overwhelming reason for the extinction of species, trade in endangered animals and plants is literally the straw that breaks the camel’s back. This combined with the power of Russian Mafia drug dealers, Chinese smugglers and professional well-armed poachers, makes a formidable force of doom facing the Siberian tiger. Many organizations including CITES are trying to stop this dreadful trade, but they are out-funded and out-gunned. In this painting, I have shown a young Siberian male gazing straight into your eyes. Do he and his kin have a future? - Robert Bateman