Many of you would probably feel what is this?But what I am going to write here is because it has shocked and horrified me and you may feel the same after reading this.We all read the newspaper, isn't it? We all turn to page3 quickly to see the celebrity photos, check the sensex, sports page.In all this we forget to notice a few things which we should have noticed.What inspired me to write this piece of **** I don't know but it had to be written.If not by me then by someone else.Malini Shankar in her article on wildlife writes that tiger census results may sharpen conservation debate.This was written when the formal count of the number of tigers in India's 28 tiger reserves was to be announced in 31st December 2007.The report could formulate policies of land use as well as accentuate the debate on rehabilitation of forest dwellers in favour of wildlife conservation.At the turn of the 19th century, one estimate of the tiger population in India placed the figure at 45,000. The first ever all-India tiger census was conducted in 1972 which revealed the existence of only 1827 tigers. A recent report published by the National Tiger Conservation Authority estimates only 1411 adult tigers in existence in India (plus uncensused tigers in the Sundarbans).In 1972 thus was launched PROJECT TIGER a wildlife conservation project initiated to protect the Bengal Tigers.The project aims at tiger conservation in specially constituted tiger reserves representative of various biogeographical regions throughout India.In 2007, there were more than 40 Project Tiger wildlife reserves covering an area of 37,761 km². Project Tiger helped increase the population of these tigers from 1,200 in the 1970s to 3,500 in 1990s. However, a 2008 census held by Government of India revealed that the tiger population had dropped to 1,411. Since then the government has pledged US$153 million to further fund the project, set-up a Tiger Protection Force to combat poachers, and fund the relocation of up to 200,000 villagers to minimize human-tiger interaction. The efforts started in July 2008, when Sariska Tiger Reserve, whose tiger population was completely wiped out in 2005, received the first two tigers via government-backed translocation scheme.This is the pace at which the Indian Government works.If there was an article written by Nandal Nilekani to Narayan murthy on the proceedings of the parliament and the thorough professionals they are, its time to think again.Our government still lacks on several fronts and is far from reach of the common people.However I won't discuss it now.. Coming back to the topic... The project was launched in 1973 in Corbett national park, and various tiger reserves were
created in the country based on a 'core-buffer' strategy. Management plans were drawn up
for each tiger reserve based on the principles outlined below: Elimination of all forms of human exploitation and biotic disturbance from the core area and rationalization of activities in the buffer zone. Restricting the habitat management only to repair the damages done to the eco-system by human and other interferences so as to facilitate recovery of the eco-system to its natural state. Monitoring the faunal and floral changes over time and carrying out research about wildlife. Global organizations, such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), contributed much funding to Project Tiger. Eventually, however, it was discovered that the project's field directors had been manipulating tiger census numbers in order to encourage more donations. In fact, the numbers were so exaggerated as to be biologically impossible in some cases.In addition, Project Tiger's efforts were damaged by poaching, as well as the Sariska debacle which were reported extensively in Indian media.Let me tell you about the infamous Sariska project.The Sariska slaughter of 22 tigers some years back brought to light the exaggeration of tiger numbers. Never before was there so much pressure on forest administration to give an accurate picture. The question in Sariska was, were there really 22 tigers that fell to the poachers' bullets? Or were there only 16 to 18 tigers as it was suggested by a field director of the reserve - Deepak Bhatnagar when he sought a recount in 2004.
Because tiger presence and tiger numbers quantify habitat conservation itself, over the years, the tiger census has come to manifest accountability of the forest officials. The tiger is at the head of the faunal pyramid in Protected Areas. If the numbers are healthy, they also reveal that their prey base too is in good numbers, proportionate to the health of the ecosystem.Counting tigers thus became the best way to hold forest officers accountable for its safety and protection. Forest department officials are indeed the custodians of Indian wildlife, bestowed with responsibility under the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. But tiger numbers were invariably inflated because forest officials turned a blind eye to poaching in part because of the challenges of proving the alleged poachers' connivance in the courts.This is because The Wildlife Protection Act 1972 stipulates the recovery of material to prove the case in a court of law. "Collection of evidence is tedious because material decomposes after a while, scattering of evidence might not be easy to connect to poaching case in question; so providing the witness becomes very challenging.Forest officials were helpless in proving poaching because of the challenges associated with recovery of material. It was easier for them to inflate numbers instead of pursuing laborious investigations which would in any case prove fruitless in a court of
law. There are number of ways of tiger census.these are pugmark,DNA analysis,biometric data
analysis,block counting,radio collaring,digital pugmark prey base indicators,etc.The cheapest and most cost effective way is pugmark technique.Pugmark technique was effective in nature but the human element and the way of its interpretation was not.There was a need to revamp the methods of counting now.To address the shortfalls of the pugmark monitoring system, the Project Tiger Directorate (currently the National Tiger Conservation Authority) commenced a project in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India and the Forest Department of Madhya Pradesh in 2003 to evolve a monitoring program for tigers, co-predators, prey and their habitat in the Satpura-Maikal Landscape.Following the Sariska crisis, the Tiger Task Force recommended the implementation of this monitoring scheme for all tiger occupied landscapes. The long awaited India's tiger census , released in 2008 by the government of India ,shows the country more at risk of losing its national symbol to poaching and habitat loss.However I would still say the work of government is commendable and praise the Indian government for its scientific integrity, and for sharing with the world the harsh truth of the crisis facing the tiger.Tigers are threatened by a combination of poaching, habitat loss from development, the loss of corridors between areas and retaliatory killing of tigers for preying on cattle or attacking humans. The existence of international markets for illegal tiger parts in spite of the fact that the countries where majority of illegal trade in wildlife takes place are signatories to CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is indeed a matter of grave concern.WWF is trying hard to reduce all possible causes that are causing tiger deaths.But if attention is not paid to their conservation we will lose them altogether.Project Tiger was a pet project of Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India. The main achievements of this project are excellent recovery of the habitat and consequent increase in the tiger population in the reserve areas, from a mere 268 in 9 reserves in 1972 to above one thousand in 28 reserves in 2006.
NOW THE BIG QUESTION:
created in the country based on a 'core-buffer' strategy. Management plans were drawn up
for each tiger reserve based on the principles outlined below: Elimination of all forms of human exploitation and biotic disturbance from the core area and rationalization of activities in the buffer zone. Restricting the habitat management only to repair the damages done to the eco-system by human and other interferences so as to facilitate recovery of the eco-system to its natural state. Monitoring the faunal and floral changes over time and carrying out research about wildlife. Global organizations, such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), contributed much funding to Project Tiger. Eventually, however, it was discovered that the project's field directors had been manipulating tiger census numbers in order to encourage more donations. In fact, the numbers were so exaggerated as to be biologically impossible in some cases.In addition, Project Tiger's efforts were damaged by poaching, as well as the Sariska debacle which were reported extensively in Indian media.Let me tell you about the infamous Sariska project.The Sariska slaughter of 22 tigers some years back brought to light the exaggeration of tiger numbers. Never before was there so much pressure on forest administration to give an accurate picture. The question in Sariska was, were there really 22 tigers that fell to the poachers' bullets? Or were there only 16 to 18 tigers as it was suggested by a field director of the reserve - Deepak Bhatnagar when he sought a recount in 2004.
Because tiger presence and tiger numbers quantify habitat conservation itself, over the years, the tiger census has come to manifest accountability of the forest officials. The tiger is at the head of the faunal pyramid in Protected Areas. If the numbers are healthy, they also reveal that their prey base too is in good numbers, proportionate to the health of the ecosystem.Counting tigers thus became the best way to hold forest officers accountable for its safety and protection. Forest department officials are indeed the custodians of Indian wildlife, bestowed with responsibility under the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. But tiger numbers were invariably inflated because forest officials turned a blind eye to poaching in part because of the challenges of proving the alleged poachers' connivance in the courts.This is because The Wildlife Protection Act 1972 stipulates the recovery of material to prove the case in a court of law. "Collection of evidence is tedious because material decomposes after a while, scattering of evidence might not be easy to connect to poaching case in question; so providing the witness becomes very challenging.Forest officials were helpless in proving poaching because of the challenges associated with recovery of material. It was easier for them to inflate numbers instead of pursuing laborious investigations which would in any case prove fruitless in a court of
law. There are number of ways of tiger census.these are pugmark,DNA analysis,biometric data
analysis,block counting,radio collaring,digital pugmark prey base indicators,etc.The cheapest and most cost effective way is pugmark technique.Pugmark technique was effective in nature but the human element and the way of its interpretation was not.There was a need to revamp the methods of counting now.To address the shortfalls of the pugmark monitoring system, the Project Tiger Directorate (currently the National Tiger Conservation Authority) commenced a project in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India and the Forest Department of Madhya Pradesh in 2003 to evolve a monitoring program for tigers, co-predators, prey and their habitat in the Satpura-Maikal Landscape.Following the Sariska crisis, the Tiger Task Force recommended the implementation of this monitoring scheme for all tiger occupied landscapes. The long awaited India's tiger census , released in 2008 by the government of India ,shows the country more at risk of losing its national symbol to poaching and habitat loss.However I would still say the work of government is commendable and praise the Indian government for its scientific integrity, and for sharing with the world the harsh truth of the crisis facing the tiger.Tigers are threatened by a combination of poaching, habitat loss from development, the loss of corridors between areas and retaliatory killing of tigers for preying on cattle or attacking humans. The existence of international markets for illegal tiger parts in spite of the fact that the countries where majority of illegal trade in wildlife takes place are signatories to CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is indeed a matter of grave concern.WWF is trying hard to reduce all possible causes that are causing tiger deaths.But if attention is not paid to their conservation we will lose them altogether.Project Tiger was a pet project of Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India. The main achievements of this project are excellent recovery of the habitat and consequent increase in the tiger population in the reserve areas, from a mere 268 in 9 reserves in 1972 to above one thousand in 28 reserves in 2006.
NOW THE BIG QUESTION:
Why do we need to save the tiger, one would ask.There are bigger issues like poverty, global food shortage, price rise. Why do we have to care about some wild tiger?To answer this question, one needs to understand that tiger is not just a charismatic species. It’s not just a wild animal living in some forest. The tiger is a unique animal which plays a pivotal role in the health and diversity of an ecosystem. It is a top predator and is at the apex of the food chain and keeps the population of wild ungulates in check, thereby maintaining the balance between prey herbivores and the vegetation upon which they feed. Therefore the presence of tigers in the forest is an indicator of the well being of the ecosystem. The extinction of this top predator is an indication that its ecosystem is not sufficiently protected, and neither would it exist for long thereafter. If the tigers go extinct, the entire system would collapse. For e.g. when the Dodos went extinct in Mauritius, one species of Acacia trees stopped regenerating completely. So when a species goes extinct, it leaves behind a scar, which affects the entire ecosystem. Another reason why we need to save the tiger is that our forests are water catchment areas. If the tiger goes today, the forests will go tomorrow and day after there will be no water in your homes. This is apart from the other natural disasters waiting to happen. And finally the tiger anthem that I have collected :
My son asked me the other day
Do we have tigers only in the zoos
My teacher tells me the forests are gone
The deers are gone, wild animals are gone
The king of the junge now kills our cattle Poachers on his trail
Now people live where once he lived His skin is up for sale.
I said son, your teacher's not fully right Tigers are in danger, but still they survive
I said son, your teacher's not fully right Tigers are in danger, but still they survive
You can still see them in the wild
Sure I will take you there someday The future of the tiger still hangs by a thread
But the battle is still not lost We don't wanna see tigers only in the zoos
We'll save them at any cost
And its now or never, for the future of the tiger
And its now or never, for the future of the tiger
It is time to decide if we wanna see the tigers in the wild
And he looked you in the eye, When you shot him, before he died
It is time that we ensure we gave the tigers a safe home.
Well son, the tiger needs your support
Well son, the tiger needs your support
In you his future lies If the tigers live, the forests live And we need it for us to survive
I take the vow not to buy anything
That has tiger part And I will try my best to gain all support
For the tiger with all my heart
And its now or never....
Lyrics: Banjoy
And its now or never....
Lyrics: Banjoy
The fact cannot be denied that the tigers in India are under tremendous threat for survival
and the general public needs to support the cause of tiger conservation in a large way.
With this objective in mind WWF-India kick started a signature campaign called "Roar of the
Tiger" on July 19, 2007 at a function organized at the Secretariat.This is the roar of the tiger which is roaring loud,loud enough that the whole world should
come to its rescue.please help save tigers.
and the general public needs to support the cause of tiger conservation in a large way.
With this objective in mind WWF-India kick started a signature campaign called "Roar of the
Tiger" on July 19, 2007 at a function organized at the Secretariat.This is the roar of the tiger which is roaring loud,loud enough that the whole world should
come to its rescue.please help save tigers.
CLICK THE LINK TO SUPPORT THE CAUSE :
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