Have you seen a tiger? A live tiger? In a zoo? Or a sanctuary maybe? Yes? So, what was the first thing you noticed about this gorgeous creature? The grace? The pride? The sheer power? The beauty? And even if you haven’t had the opportunity to see a live one, I’m sure you would have seen a picture! And even in that inanimate picture, all these characteristics of this magnificent animal prominently stand out. The King of the jungle! The mightily powerful predator. And we all Indians ( and of course others too) should be so proud that this beautiful creature is India’s national animal!

But, the way things are going, it seems that, in the next few decades, this national animal or shall we say our national treasure is going to be relegated to being on stamps, postcards and picture books instead of it’s rightful abode…the jungle. Our kids will know India’s national animal only through lifeless pictures. Or yes! Maybe we can show them a stuffed one (obviously the victim of some scrupulous poacher)!

Why? My heart screams… Just why are we standing by silently and letting the pride of our country, our national animal, become extinct? Have we become so lethargic and so embroiled in our personal matters that we have simply chosen to ignore things that directly don’t concern us? But alas, they do. They very strongly do concern us and our lives and our very existence… Very much. And the sooner we realize this, the better. Perhaps what we lack is the social consciousness and the realization of the impact this situation is bound to have on our lives. Should we not stop procrastinating taking action until it becomes an issue that threatens to affect our immediate lives?!

Two of the major factors responsible for the sad state we are in, are, the rampant destruction of forests and second and equally important - POACHING.

We had an amazing number of tigers at the turn of the century, but now are left with a pitiable figure. Thanks to the thoughtless and rampant poaching that goes on unhindered right under the noses of the authorities that is. The magnificent king of the jungles is being killed for its fur, teeth, claws, bones.  Though furs are still sold illegally, their market has been reduced due to growing public campaigns against furs and international trade controls. In India it is estimated that the tiger is being poached at the rate of 1 per day. At this rate the wild tiger in India will suffer the same fate as its cousins in the Far East and will disappear within the next 5 to 10 years unless serious measures are taken to protect it.

There are various reasons why the graceful creature is on the verge of becoming extinct very soon. Tigers have been attributed with unnatural, God-like, exorcism powers. Tiger bones are believed to have powers to conquer evil. Ironically, this belief of the tiger’s “supreme power” is leading to its decline. We need to educate ourselves and others about the animal, which is the pride of our nation. We need to actively spread awareness and eradicate such ridiculous notions from amongst the masses.

The impact of poaching is widespread. It’s definitely not the death of just one animal. Every animal is doing its bit and playing a role in maintaining the balance of our eco system. If a full grown female tiger dies her helpless cubs are left to die of starvation. There go another couple of tigers, at the minimum. Of course there is the additional loss of her breeding potential. If it’s a male then there may be bloody fights over territory which in the least disrupts breeding and also may cause the deaths of several tiger cubs. Another reason for the declining population of tigers is the reduced food supply. The tiger is a predatory animal. It preys on animals like the deer and antelope. Poaching of these animals has reduced his food supply.

As for the demolition of forests, prime tiger habitat such as forests and grasslands, are being converted to agriculture and settlements. Between 1980 and 1990 in Asia, about 470,000 square km of moist forest were destroyed. Tiger habitat is also declining due to intrusion of grazing domestic livestock. Trees are being cut down without check for the collection of wood and also for mining. These activities are often done illegally in tiger reserves.

We are so brutally cornering this creature; leaving it with no food, no shelter and then blaming it for intruding our cities, our homes! Then, we term them as “ruthlessly dangerous” and shoot them down, blaming them for their own deaths, the intelligent species that we are! Of course tigers are dangerous when they are roaming the streets! They are meant to be. They are WILD animals. How can we forget that? But the question to be pondered is, why are they coming into contact with the human population in this undesirable and unwelcome manner? Who is ultimately responsible for that? We have destroyed their homes, left them with no place to go. What are the poor beasts to do? Intelligent species that we are, don’t we ought to give a thought to that? Without protected habitats, there is nowhere safe for these large, roaming animals to breed and live the way they are meant to live.       

(Tigers invade civilized areas against their own wills…just in search of food. Why else shall this king enter into anybody else’s territory…more so his worst enemy’s territory?)

Another factor is the shortage of prey species. If deer and antelope are being poached, tigers may be tempted to kill livestock, something which pushes them into further confrontation with humans.  How long are we going to turn a blind eye to these facts? Isn’t it the moral and social responsibility of each one of us to accept accountability for the situation we are facing and take action to rectify this condition? There’s no point in pointing fingers, shirking responsibility and saying that ‘hey, I have never been directly responsible or involved. I have neither bought nor sold!’  

Let’s please stand up and fight this problem because if we go on ignoring it any further, we are going to be truly responsible for the consequences of these rapidly deteriorating circumstances. Let’s stop caring only about our immediate circle of concern and broaden our views and perspectives. Lets be responsible world citizens. If it’s the Taj Mahal, and not our own home that is getting ruined, we should be as concerned, if not more, as we would be, had it been our own property. This has become a national concern, there is no more point in wasting time…there is simply no more time to waste! We should not simply sit and await the time when it might actually, directly impact our day to day life.

Only 1411 tigers left in this country which once boasted of being a happy hunting home to the largest number of tigers in the world! Now Only 1411!  

Let us do something about it. Now. Anything. In any way that we can.  Every bit certainly helps. Let’s extend our support to this cause. Let’s stand up, take notice and OBJECT. Its time to put our foot down. No more poaching. We will not tolerate it.  It might not be you; but if you notice something that you know is not ethically or socially correct, then let’s choose not to ignore it. Let’s decide to act. Pro-actively. We need the tiger more than we realize! For more than just showing our kids how a “live” tiger looks and behaves like; more than as a specimen in the zoos. Tigers are important biologically to maintain the overall health of the ecosystem. As a top predator of the food chain, tigers help keep prey populations in check.  We need this animal to maintain the balance of our ecological system which is the survival system of man too. Also, tigers, being so popular, play a major role as mediating elements in generating funds and action for habitat preservation. The loss of these big cats is a heavy loss indeed. Their extinction could result in the degeneration of support in maintaining the ecosystem....all of the plant and animal species will be adversely affected.

The Big Question is ‘Can India's tigers be saved or are they now doomed to disappear?’ The answer to this lies in our hands. It’s our decision.