Talking About Tigers in India

         
(Written from Kanha, India, November 17)

Here I am in the heart of wild tiger country.  It took us an hour by plane to Japalpur, then another five hours by car on rudimentary roads to arrive at Kipling Camp, adjacent to the Kahna Tiger Preserve.

I am here at the invitation of Judy Mills, Executive Director of the Save the Tiger Foundation, an organization dedicated to ensure that the endangered wild tiger can not only survive, but thrive, in the wild.  Not an easy task since wild tigers need large wilderness in which to roam, not to mention the fact that such wilderness needs to provide plenty of prey for the tiger to eat.  The steady encroachment of human development on the tiger's natural home continues to reduce the wilderness and prey available to this magnificent animal.

It was Judy who gathered these 24 world-recognized experts on all things tiger: habitat, zoology, conservation, geography and more.  We are meeting here at Kipling Camp (an amazing place owned by the family of Belinda Wright, a Brit raised in India who spent much of her childhood at the camp).  Belinda, an accomplished photographer, lives in New Delhi, and is dedicated to tracking down for prosecution the growing number of poachers who threaten the tiger.

And poaching is indeed a problem made dramatically clear just this week. when a wild tiger barely escaped a poacher's trap in the preserve and, in the process, lost much of his back left paw.  He was spotted by a tourist who photographed him limping in the forest.  It made headlines in the Indian press, reflecting deep concern about the increasing brazenness of poachers,who kill the tiger for big bucks (about $8,000 these days) on the black market, fueled by those anxious for tiger parts for medicinal purposes--despite the pronouncements by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) experts that genuine tiger parts are no more efficacious than readily available synthetic substitutes.

It's a sad and frustrating story, especially for these experts who have dedicated their professional lives to study and protect the wild tiger.  But anyone who has been fortunate enough to see a wild tiger can understand what a horrific practice this poaching is, especially since some say if the practice is not stopped, the wild tiger could become extinct in our lifetimes. 

In fact, poaching is not the only problem.,  Even without poaching, the tiger is threatened by the increasing difficulty in preserving his valuable habitat. 

So Judy hired me to faciliated a 3 day dialogue among the tiger experts to determine the best approach forward.  A formidable task.  I'll tell you why tomorrow.