A Tiger’s Tale
It is better to have lived twenty five days as a tiger than a thousand years as a sheep: Tibetan proverb
Once upon a time India was a Tiger Country
People and governments believed within limits wild creatures have as much right to exist as the human race
When a man wishes to kill a tiger, he calls it sport; when a tiger wishes to kill him, he calls it ferocity
As many as 80,000 tigers were slaughtered in India from 1875 to 1925 as a sport and by poachers
A tiger pelt fetched a princely sum of $10,000 in the 1960s to make rugs and coats, so favoured by Hollywood celebs
The tiger population slumped to less than 2,000 in 1970 from 1 lakh at the turn of the 1900s and 40,000 in 1940
Project Tiger India’s 1st nature conservation project starts in 1973
State governments responsible for conservation
The tiger counts on the forest, the forest counts on the tiger
Loyalty is no more natural to man than a cage is to a tiger
Tiger population fluctuated in the first period of Project Tiger but has stabilized since the formation of National Tiger Conservation Authority in 2006. A steady rise indicates the success of the conservation efforts
Export of tiger skins banned in 1969 but poaching rampant because of medicine demand from China. Virtually every part of tiger from whisker to tail used in Chinese traditional medicine
The NTCA (set up in 2006) made tiger conservation a central project. Prior to 2006 tigers were surveyed on the basis of their pug marks, which led to fluctuations in numbers. Since 2006, camera traps were used, which led to more reliable calculation
In bygone years, there was almost inexhaustible supply of tigers.
“At one time in parts of India at the beginning of the last century, they were so numerous it seemed to be a question as to whether man or the tiger would survive,” comments A.A. Dunbar Brander.
Thomas Williamson, author of Oriental Field Sports published in 1807, tells of the incredible numbers that existed during the late eighteenth century, mentioning that a traveler being conveyed by palankeen saw three tigers lying by the side of the road along which he was proceeding.
“At one time in parts of India at the beginning of the last century, they were so numerous it seemed to be a question as to whether man or the tiger would survive,” comments A.A. Dunbar Brander.
Thomas Williamson, author of Oriental Field Sports published in 1807, tells of the incredible numbers that existed during the late eighteenth century, mentioning that a traveler being conveyed by palankeen saw three tigers lying by the side of the road along which he was proceeding.
Parliament passes Wildlife Protection Act in 1972
Principal objective to protect the tiger and its habitats
Tiger reserves set up to protect the big cats
Principal objective to protect the tiger and its habitats
Tiger reserves set up to protect the big cats
Parliament passes Wildlife Protection Act in 1972
Project Tiger India’s 1st nature conservation project starts in 1973
Tiger reserves set up to protect the big cats
Project Tiger India’s 1st nature conservation project starts in 1973
Tiger reserves set up to protect the big cats
Reserves divided into core and buffer zones
Tigers in core areas, buffers a balance between humans, others
From 9 protected areas, India has 58 reserves now
Tigers in core areas, buffers a balance between humans, others
From 9 protected areas, India has 58 reserves now