World Tiger Day has been observed world over but especially
in countries with Tiger populations on July 29th.
It has been an event for the
past seven years since the 2010 Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit with the aim to
enable the ambition of doubling global tiger population by 2022 the next Year
of the Tiger in the Asian calendar. The #Connect2Tigers hashtag from WWF is
helping connect tigers with the smartphone generation! As tiger conservation faces
the challenges of climate change, urbanization and increased man-animal
conflict, the encroaching development projects and the ever-present problem of
poaching – the need of the hour is innovative solutions to “Save the Tiger.”
Can millennials
and the younger generations to the rescue of the Indian National Animal?
The
Royal Bengal Tiger is a sub-species that is surviving better than the other
embattled tigers across the globe. But new challenges continue to emerge. Awareness
is the first step to create Tiger champions and conservators. This cartoon from Green Humour is a great tool to reach younger audiences.
(c) Green Humour
The cartoonist himself, Rohan Chakravarty acknowledges a tryst with a tigress as life changing turning a dentist into a popular cartoonist promoting the green cause!
Building
experiences and connections between the younger generations and the tigers that
inspire future game-changers and conservationists who can develop innovative
solutions to the tiger conservation challenge is a key step to enable
conservation.
I was
blessed to have read Jim Corbett’s My
India as part of my English curriculum in middle school. It fired my
imagination and added to my fascination to all big cats. A quick trip past the
Corbett National Park helped fuel the fascination. Catching the tigers at play in
the Singapore Zoo and later in its Night Safari, a trip to the Tiger Temple in
Kanchanapuri in Thailand, though controversial in today’s times with scandal of
drugged tigers and smuggling of tiger parts, cemented my bond with the tigers.
Although wildlife fanatics claim that there’s nothing like coming across the Tiger in the wild – dominating its habitat – any interaction with this magnificent beast can kindle a bond if fostered.
The Vandalur Zoo’s summer Zoo Ambassador programme is one such initiative that can help forge bonds between urban children and the natural world and its mesmerizing fauna.
At the Singapore Zoo - Tiger Trek and the one of the white tigers
Tiger cubs at the Tiger Temple, Thailand during the cub feeding programme
Although wildlife fanatics claim that there’s nothing like coming across the Tiger in the wild – dominating its habitat – any interaction with this magnificent beast can kindle a bond if fostered.
The Vandalur Zoo’s summer Zoo Ambassador programme is one such initiative that can help forge bonds between urban children and the natural world and its mesmerizing fauna.
India is home to 70% of the global tiger population so real
impact can be made to tiger conservation goals if the Indian Tigers are
protected and allowed to procreate and prosper in peace. Man-animal conflict reduced in the Sundarbans thanks to
solar lighting and energy supply. Involving the local communities in tiger conservation is
another crucial step and such projects that improve lives and supplement
livelihoods help. India has lost 97 % of its tiger population in the past
century (1918-2018). But in recent years any success stories have emerged recently. In 2006 there were only 1,411 tigers were left in India
despite it being our national animal and the Project Tiger. It is expected that
we have 3,000 tigers in the 2018 Tiger Survey extrapolating from 2014 estimates of
2,226 tigers. In 2017, it was
estimated 115 tigers died down from 122 in 2016.
Losses in the floods in the northeast worsened by
urbanization and climate change have yielded tiger deaths for along with the
Rhino the forests of the northeast and the Sundarbans are tiger hotspots. The
Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, for example, is a national park which in addition to
being a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site in Assam, India is a Project Tiger
reserve, an elephant reserve and a biosphere reserve. Known for birding as
well. Open November to April and closed during the Monsoons and rainy season
from May to October. It was in peril by the Bodoland separatists but has fought
back. The presence of insurgents remains a problem in these dense forest
reserve areas, as are news of proposals for thermal power projects for power to
India and Bangladesh close to the biodiversity hotspot the other UNESCO Heritage
site the Sundarbans.
India is home to nearly 70% of the global tiger population. But
India’s tigers also faces the threat from development projects:
a report released on July 23 lists 399 road, irrigation and railway projects that could impact tiger habitats in eight States comprising the Central India-Eastern Ghats landscape.
The Eastern Ghats have emerged as a region where the tiger
population has revived and consolidated and such projects as well as the
clearance for the ONGC project in bird sanctuaries and near the biodiversity
hot spot the Gulf of Mannar is counter-intuitive and against the tenets of sustainable
development.
(c) The Hindu
If we are to double the world tiger population by the Year
of the Tiger in 2022 we need to work fast and work smart. This can be a major chance for
India to emerge as a country for Tiger Conservation best practices and
leadership.
