I was prompted to write this post after visiting the facebook group on "save tigers 1411 left" or some such name. I was reading the discussions on what we can do to save these 1411. I stopped reading after a few posts and couldn't go on....
How many of us have visited a tiger sanctuary to see a tiger in its natural habitat? I was lucky enough to spot a tigress and her three cubs on my visit to Bandhavgadh recently. It was very different experience because it brought many new insights.
The moment you see the tiger lying under a tree, or walking across a jungle road you realise what an apt name it has. "Royal"
Nonetheless, it was an amazing experience. Later, we talked to the guide about a lot of things, poaching, encroachment, adivasis etc. He was surprisingly well-educated and well-informed. A note to all people who think most forest officials are stupid, good for nothing, corrupt people, do visit Bandhavgadh sometime. All of the guides are trained and specifically allotted by the department, with good knowledge of the jungle and some of them even excellent bird-watchers. I am not aware of the systems in other national parks, but I am sure they are not as bad as we believe them to be.
Our guide was telling us how tourism is as good as police patrolling. When there is tourist pressure on a tiger reserve, the department is more alert, kept in good working condition. The poachers find it difficult to enter a park which is frequented by tourists. He compared the two parks Sariska and Panna to Bandhavgadh. People had stopped going to Sariska. The 15 tigers which were left had disappeared in a few years and the Rajasthan Forest Department was left gaping with surprise. The cause? Poaching. Ill-kept records. General disuse of the jungle. A similar case is found in Panna tiger reserve where the tourists stopped arriving and the tigers disappeared. Now compare these to Bandhavgadh, which is one of the most visited national parks. Bandhavgadh has the highest tiger density in the country.
He also told us how the forest department planned to close down Bandavgadh for a few years so as to promote breeding and increase the tiger population. He told us that many forest officials and guides were opposing this plan, since closing the park to tourists effectively endangers the tigers.
This was a completely new insight. I had never thought of this before. Tourism can actually be a responsibility. Once you start thinking about it, it seems so obvious. Yes, preserving our jungles is a responsibility and one of the ways of doing it is actually visiting the jungles.
Of course, it goes without saying that visiting a jungle implies living by the rules of the jungle. You cannot go about dressed in flashy clothes, chatting on your cell phones, munching Lays and guzzling Pepsi, and screaming yourself hoarse the moment you spot a tiger - "Mummee Mummee!!! Woh dekho tiger jaa raha hai!!"
Let’s put it into perspective. Imagine it's Sunday morning, you're just getting out of bed and plan to go to the kitchen for a drink of water, and maybe get some coffee. Suddenly, right outside your bedroom there is a line of 25 Martian spaceships. All the Martians (there are about 80-100 of those creatures) are making a deafening noise. They all have some weird instruments in their hands which they point at you and make clicking whirring noises. Their dressing is such that it hurts your eyes like flashing lights. They stink horribly. And to top it all they are all pointing excitedly at you and jabbering animatedly to each other. What a way to start the day!
If you think I am exaggerating, let me assure you, this is exactly how the tiger feels when we enter its jungle in our jungle jeeps, with our designer clothes,
One of the simplest things we can do to protect the tiger is this. Respect the tiger and the tiger's habitat. Sure, go to the parks, see the tigers, get good photographs. But let that not compromise in any way the tiger's peace. Wear decent camouflaging clothes. Leave your cellphones at your hotel rooms. Refrain from eating and drinking junk all the way in to the forest and out. We can always do that later. Do not use a flash while taking photographs. Lights scare and disturb animals more than you can imagine. Avoid talking loudly, avoid any loud noises. Listen to what the guide says; he is not stupid. These are all very elementary things that are not so hard to follow. But all these rules are most frequently disobeyed.
You are an outsider in the jungle. It belongs to the animals. Don't act like you own the place.
Now we come to the part where we all want to do something to save these precious 1411 tigers. One of the most frequently heard solutions – stop poaching. My answer to these people – get real…
Firstly, try however much we may, average people like us can do almost nothing about poaching. It's a fact, sad, but true. The ones who plan it are unknown millionaires while the buyers are also unknown millionaires. People like you and me who read and write forums on the internet don't buy tiger skins. And this post is not going to affect that poacher who is sitting comfortably in his posh bungalow somewhere. Also, the poacher is not the one who will go and kill the tiger. Nor is it the so called corrupt forest official. It is some poor adivasi who has been given a nice new shiny gun and a packet of about 500rs. Those five hundred rupees which we spend in a single afternoon is a month's fortune for his family.
The adivasis and villagers don’t have any personal grudges against the tigers to go on killing sprees. In fact, they respect the jungle and the animals way more than we ever do. They simply are dying for a source of income. Their only source of income is the national parks, and the tourists who visit these parks. If they have a sufficient income here they don’t need to earn by supplying the poachers. So the national parks are not only essential for the animals but for the people living nearby as well.
We cannot stop poaching directly, nor can we stop people from buying poached goods. Arresting them, catching them red-handed are all deeds that are way beyond average people like us. What we really can do is support the national parks which protect the animals. Support the people who are trying to keep these parks in a good condition. And on a more personal level, watch your behaviour when you are visiting the park. Isn’t giving a tiger his peace of mind, his own space, his freedom better, than just wearing ‘save the tiger’ t-shirts and sending forwarded emails about how tigers are being harassed?
There is a saying in Marathi which goes something like “phul naahi, phulaachi paakli tari…”, essentially meaning, it may not be much but its something at least. What I am doing may not be much, I may not be stopping a poacher, I may not be saving a tiger from imminent death. But I do know that I did my little bit by going there myself, seeing the place for myself, becoming aware. I hope that everyone feels compelled to do their own little bit like I did. I hope that one day those cubs grow up to be three strong and healthy tigers, who go on to have cubs of their own. And I hope that one day when I get to go there with my daughter, she can experience the same awe-struck respect for the jungle and the Royal Bengal Tiger.
