This post is part of the Anglo-Indian Project Holiday Season series 2017
IN THE YEAR 1900, MORE THAN 100,000 TIGERS WERE IN THE WILD.
IN 2017, THERE ARE JUST OVER 3,000.
In 1994, Belinda Wright – an award-winning wildlife photographer and filmmaker – took up the cause of conservation and founded the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI). The organisation aims to raise awareness on the brutal killings of wild tigers in India and the illegal trade which is driving this.
As a Boxing Day bonus, below are 7 posts from the Anglo-Indian Project and links, regarding some of the issues facing Indian tigers. #4 below India’s Illegal Tiger Trade is a key post detailing some of the key issues and recent trends in tiger poaching.
1. India’s Tigers: A Threatened Species for the story of one man’s quest to save the Indian tiger, through the lens of a camera.
United Nations 2016 – In India only 1700 tigers survive in the wild. Poaching and climate change have taken a heavy toll. This short film follows the story of one man’s quest to save the Indian tiger, through the lens of a camera. (United Nations, 2016)
2. Wild India Diaries: A Tiger’s Heart for a short documentary on an unheard phenomenon where a male tiger takes care of two mother-less cubs.
3. Man-Eaters of Kumaon for a review of Jim Corbett’s classic text:
Human beings are not the natural prey of tiger, and it is only when tigers have been incapacitated through wounds or old age that, in order to live, they are compelled to take a diet of human flesh. (Corbett, 1944:vii)
4. India’s Illegal Tiger Trade for more detailed discussion of the illegal Tiger trade in India:
In 1900, more than 100,000 tigers were in the wild. In 2017, there are just over 3,000. (National Geographic, 2014)
5. Killer Tigers of India for a National Geographic documentary about ‘killer tigers of India’:
A tiger usually makes one large kill every week. For India’s 1,700-odd tigers, that adds up to more than 85,000 kills in a year. (BBC, 2014)
6. Counting Tigers: How India does its Tiger Census an NDTV short film about India’s tiger estimation process:
The Estimation process involves thousands of forests guards, NGO workers, researchers and volunteers who spread out into tiger reserves across the country collecting data, setting up camera traps and monitoring movement. (NDTV Special Projects, 2015)
7. India: Last of the Tigers an Al Jazeera documentary following conservationists’ uphill battle to save India’s tigers from extinction.
India’s tigers are disappearing. From 45,000 a century ago, to barely 1,700 surviving today… The battle to save India’s tigers from extinction. (Al Jazeera English, 2016)
For more information see:
- Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI)
- World Wildlife Federation (WWF)
- Sharma, K., Wright, B., Joseph, T., & Desaic, N. (2014) Tiger poaching and trafficking in India: Estimating rates of occurrence and detection over four decades. Biological Conservation, 179: 33–39
- Stoner, S. and Krishnasamy, K. (2016) Reduced to Skin and Bones Re-Examined: An analysis of Tiger seizures from 13 range countries from 2000-2015. TRAFFIC Report. Malaysia
- Corbett National Park
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Cover picture by Sponchia on pexels.com
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