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Yet another sad telling of the same story:
June/July National Geographic Adventure magazine again describes the tragedy at Ranthambore and the tigers the Indian government failed to protect.
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The War On India's Tigers
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I was in the Corbett a few days back. I found the younger generation of gaurds & officers very proffessional, dynamic in their attitude & pushing...a welcome change from the older fellows, who had that irritating languorousness in their ways!
I saw an urgency in their beats. While fishing for Golden Mahaseer on the river, I saw one of them keep an eye on the proceedings, from a distance, making sure that I flouted no rules of 'catch & release'.
I am very optimistic, the tiger will survive, atleast in the sanctuaries. The casualty has been those unfortunate beasts who once lived in reserved forests.
wayne
don't get me started at the Indian government and wildlife authorities and their failure to protect these wonderful cats!
We just visited 5 (!!!) tiger parks and we were able to see tigers only in 2 (!!!).
I did a trip report on that trip.
We spoke to lots of guides and the guides trained by andBeyond (former CC Africa) have a far better understanding of wildlife and its protection than the "naturalists" at the National Parks.
We have got the impression that the Wildlife servce, government and "naturalists" see these cats only as a kind of money printing device. They really give a sh§§ whether 5 or 100 tigers bring them money and tips.
They seem satisfied as long as they have SOME tigers left which brings tourists.
We were told that it will most definitely take one more generation to grow into responsibilities which really understands and appreciates how precious these cats have become now and care about wildlife conservation.
And it's not only about an INDIAN asset! It's about all human's asset which regrettably lives in India and therefore A UN body should interfere with the careless and irresponsible actions these Indian guys allow to happen.
A country which wasts money by building nuclear weapons but neglects its wildlife's protection acts sinfully against human intelligence.
Of course the pressure must come from outside the country because 1.3 billion people of whom most struggle for their daily survival cannot be expected to take care of these cats.
And it's also about "loosing ones face" - a decision won't be corrected because one could loose one's face. Doesn't matter how wrong and insane the decision might has been.
I doubt by the time that government has understood there won't be any tigers left in the wilds.
But the pockets will be filled by then - and who cares.........for the rest?
It's all too sad and must be considered a crime!
SV
vp
of what sanctuaries are you talking?????????????
SANCTUARIES?
You mean these national parks which have no fences and people/poachars can enter and leave to their liking?
Anti-poaching units is a term they still have never considered to introduce!
Villiages are still within some parks.
Tigers can leave the "sanctuaries" also to their liking and you have got one guess for free what happens to tigers which leave the "sanctuary".
Panna lost more than 40 tigers within only a couple of years!
A poacher earn more by shooting/selling a tiger than he could possible earn in a lifetime in the country side!
The estimation is between 1100 and 1400 tigers are left in the wild.
Even the most optimistic conservationists doubt that number. NP's do occasional census. But how?
Between Pench and Kanha is a kind of "corridor" connecting these areas leading to some 2500 square kilometers of space. The "estimation" for Pench was 30 to 65 (think of these numbers!) and for Kanha 35 to 60 individuals. Now based on the fact that both park officials have no clue how many cats travel in between these parks they also cannot estimate which individual has been counted by which park.
Furthermore Bandavgarh' estimation was about 65 to 90 tigers. Taking into consideration that a tiger needs at least 30 square km for its territory and many teritorries are traversing - the pressure onto these tigers is immense leading to more killings of cubs and adults than necessary.
Over and above that interbreeding leads to narrowing the gene pools down which leads to deseases.
But despite all this the park authorities are not willingly exchanging tigers with other parks in order to relief the tensions and get new blood into the park.
Sanctuary as such is a word they have never heard of or just have a strange Indian interpretation for it.
You can turn it in any direction - it doesn't take another 10 years and thy will be gone. For ever!
SV
Your concerns about the Indian tiger are certainly well received & appreciated. However, I may not agree with the dismal picture or the conclusions that you have adduced from your visit to 5 tiger reserves. A lot needs to be done to make the tiger safe in their home in India. I am not in anyway trying to defend the red tape & the slow movement of conservation schemes, in this field but to revile India, I take strong exception to.
I have closely watched the scene from the time when shooting blocks could be reserved, to the present day, when hunting is banned in India.
It is common knowledge that the tiger inhabited the whole of Asian continent, including Siberia, Manchuria, Indo-China, Malaysia, Jawa & Sumatra. It is also a fact that if the tiger is to survive it’s best chance lies in India alone, for all other states have either already lost them or are just a few in numbers. Way back in 1945 Jim Corbett gave only 15 years to it’s survival, when the human population was just one fourth of what it is today, the fact that we still have about 1000 or a little more, speaks volumes for those of us who have made it a mission to save the species from disaster!
The laws are right in place & some of the most stringent ever. It is difficult to shoot a pigeon let alone a tiger! The poor villagers / tribal do not have the means or fire power to hunt them. A full bore rifle costs half a million INR, if available. The influential Indian does not go after tigers, elephants or leopards but hunted for sports, the lesser game. No body is even hunting today for fear of legal retribution. If I may recall, a foreign dignitary faced the ignominy of confiscation of Shahtoosh shawls, a couple of years back.
The meanest of all the foresters will not have the guts or conscience to condescend killing of tigers. The tiger skin or artifacts made of tiger parts, ivory etc. has no demand in the Indian market. All trophies, even gun licenses issued for sports or residing in proximity to wildlife sanctuaries need to be registered with WL Dept. The question remains who are these poachers? These are well organized international mafia who have the means & markets for these items. The international community will need to curb international trade if the tiger is to survive in the wild!!