Wildlife Conservation is a topic which has being brought into the spotlight by conservationists time and again.. One of the main reasons behind it is that despite repeated efforts man in his tearing hurry of deforesting a region or rather should I say changing the natural habitat of an area (for the purposes of industrialization, housing e.t.c.) tends to ignore the rights of the other living beings living on this planet along with him. Also, man in order to satiate his requirements (mostly unjustified) tends to trample on the right to life of the other living beings (i.e. the flora and fauna) of this planet..
Pic taken on April 25th 2014 at 1753 hrs in Zone 5. The male tiger in pic is one of the sons of T-17, the daughter of T-16 (popularly known as Macchli)
One of the finest examples of this man-nature conflict is the dwindling population of tigers in India (and the World ) in particular.. From the turn of the 20th century when the tiger population in India was around 10000-20000 to the turn of the 21st century when the tiger population in India dwindled down by more than 90 % to 1200 (approx) the tiger who was once found in abundance is an endangered species now !!
Tigers are coveted for each and every part of their body (their skin, their claws, their bones e.t.c.) and in the black market their body parts are sold for millions of dollars as there is a huge demand for tiger products.. And as tiger products do not hang from trees they are mercilessly butchered irrespective of the fact that they are an endangered species because there is so much money involved in the trade.. If you are looking of any fine example of how money can over power the sense of judgement, sense of morality and the sense of humanity in a man it is the tiger trade.. But then it should'nt come as a surprise to us because when man can kill another man for money then what chance does a living being who does not have the ability to speak have ??
But in such a dark atmosphere wildlife conservationists (who are as stubborn as the enemies of flora and fauna of this world or perhaps even more) come as a ray of hope to the future generations.. We have a moral responsibility to ensure that the nature and wildlife which we have today can be seen by the future generations in their actual state (and not just in textbooks)..
Late Mr Fateh Singh Rathore (India's Best known tiger conservationist)
Wildlife conservationists who put in their sweat and blood (quite literally) like the Late Mr Fateh Singh Rathore are the beacons of hope in the dark scenario which we face today.. Mr Rathore mentioned of an incident where he was brutally attacked by some men, because they hated his wildlife (and Tiger) conservation works, and left him for dead.. When Mr Rathore gained back his health we went up to those men and made it amply clear to them that he would not stop doing, what he was doing..
Some of the many challenges which wildlife conservationists face today are -
1. Reducing Man- Animal Conflicts
2. Reducing (to the bare minimum) incidents of poaching
3. Ensuring that the habitat of wildlife is not threatened
4. Ensuring that the forest service staff is aware of these challenges and is trained enough to deal with them
4. Ensuring that the political will to sustain and ultimately help the wildlife bloom remains..
Rapid Response Unit Vehicle
One of the significant campaigns in contemporary times to help sustain wildlife and especially the 'Tiger' population is the Aircel 'Save Our Tigers' Campaign.. This campaign (run by Aircel, in partnership with WCT) has been moving on for some years now and has been doing an effective job in developing and deploying Rapid Response Unit vehicles, revamping Anti-Poaching Camps and training foresters across all the major wildlife sanctuaries (with a tiger population) apart from creating wildlife awareness amongst the local populace (the 'Kids for Tigers Express' Initiative) and the masses in general
Kis for Tigers Express
I was invited by Aircel to participate in this campaign and do my bit to spread the awareness about the issues faced by the 'Save Our Tigers' campaign and which is why I am here in the Ranthambore National Park to look closely at the achievements and the challenges faced by wildlife conservationists and the 'Save our Tigers' campaign in particular..
Aircel has been pursuing the 'Save Our Tigers' campaign for quite some time (and not let the campaign fizzle out as others might have been tempted to do) and as their track record proves they really want to make a difference to the wildlife scenario in India..
Kudos to them, and as long as they continue to do the great work which they have been doing, people of different kinds will come forward and help them by giving a hand so that their efforts can bear fruit in the time to come because ultimately we are not doing this for ourselves, we are doing this for our future generations.. We owe them something, we owe them our planet !!
- Posted from Location
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(This article is dedicated to India's pioneering wildlife conservationist, the Late Mr Fateh Singh Rathore)
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