September, 1998
| The Year in Review | India | Nepal |
| About Tigers | Gratitudes | A Diary Entry |
| The Meaning of Jai Bagh | How to Help |
Dear Online Friends:
As Chairman of The Fund For The Tiger it is my pleasure to share with you our second annual Newsletter.
This, the Year of The Tiger, has been a productive year for our Fund. As this Newsletter will reveal, we have selectively supported some projects which we feel will help protect certain tiger populations and show support for those working under difficult conditions to protect both the tiger and its habitat. Our base of support has continued to grow and we remain committed to our goal of remaining small, unencumbered by bureaucracy and overhead, and focused on supporting the work being done in Asia to meet the most immediate threat facing the tiger.
The Year of The Tiger has produced a great deal of publicity about the problems facing the tiger yet I continue to meet people everyday who have never heard that the continued existence of the tiger in the wild is being threatened by loss of habitat, lack of prey species, encroaching population pressures, economic development, the lack of political will in some host countries, or that the tiger is being slaughtered to satisfy a market based on ancient medicinal practices and customs. News stories and articles have appeared about the need for education and for finding alternative medicines to replace those made from endangered animals. But ancient customs and practices, when empowered by myth and symbol, die hard. And it should also be remembered that there is big money to me made from these animals. The illicit international trade of animals and endangered species- dead or alive- ranks third in dollar value behind only arms and drugs.
How fares the tiger in 1998? Some populations continue to teeter on the brink of extinction, some are holding a precarious balance against the various pressures of the modern world; and others have made a comeback in the past few years due to a dramatic increase in concern and efforts by their host countries combined with the work of dedicated tiger conservationists. What cannot be allowed to happen is the lethargy and complacency which beset the tiger conservation community in the 1980's.
The Fund For The Tiger has concentrated its support, thus far, to work being done in Nepal and India to help the Bengal tiger. In Nepal, we work closely through the International Trust for Nature Conservation [ITNC] and its internationally renowned tiger expert, Dr. Charles McDougal. In India, we support the aggressive and courageous work being done by the Wildlife Protection Society of India [WPSI] headed by Ms. Belinda Wright and Mr. Ashok Kumar.
In last December's fund raising letter I wrote about the need to establish anti-poaching units [APU's] in two of the more remote and unprotected tiger reserves in Nepal- at Royal Sukla Phanta National Park in the far west and at Parsa Wildlife Reserve east of Royal Chitwan National Park. One year ago, there was no official or organized protection for the tigers at Sukla Phanta at all and there was a small anti-poaching presence at Parsa. Sukla Phanta, with only 16 known tigers, was in dire need of protection. Parsa is critical as an important dispersal area for the tigers who are forced to leave the relatively high density of Royal Chitwan National Park. When tigers reach maturity at about 2 years of age they either disperse to new territory or fight battles for space in the old with the loser moving on. Chitwan is facing increased human population pressure from the North and it is critical to protect any tiger habitat contiguous to Royal Chitwan National Park.
I am pleased to report that our Fund has been able to establish a new anti-poaching patrol at both places. In January of this year, we provided funds tothe ITNC for the purchase of two motorcycles with appropriate maintenance support to be used in anti-poaching patrols. In April of this year, Dr. McDougal had consultations with Dr. Uday Sharma, Director General of Nepal's Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, and they agreed on the establishment of two new anti-poaching units: one at Champapur in Royal Sukla Phanta National Park and one at Makwanpur in Parsa Wildlife Reserve. These APU's consist of various combinations of Forest Guards, Game Scouts, elephant patrols, informants, and occasional motor support. Funds were immediately wired to the ITNC and we remain committed to support these two APU's.
We also financed the repair of a jeep used to support existing anti-poaching work at Royal Chitwan National Park. The poachers have resorted to very bold attacks this year, particularly against the endangered rhino. Armed jeep loads of poachers have fired on rhinos from the peripheral roads around the park; open pits have been dug and rhinos slaughtered for their horns when they fall in; and one brazen band of thugs was routed out in a gun battle with park rangers when found sitting up in the 'rhino blind' which was built for game viewing near the Tiger Tops Tented Camp.
Funds made available to the ITNC have financed the periodic and ongoing tiger surveys at Royal Bardia National Park (1996 and 1997), Royal Sukla Phanta National Park (1997), and at Bara (1997). We hope to be able to continue to fund these important tiger surveys as deemed necessary by the ITNC and the Government of Nepal.
The habitat of the tiger and other endangered species in India have recently been facing new and diverse forms of attack beyond the scope of the poachers rifle or poisoned pellet. Monsoon rains this summer have created monumental floods throughout much of Asia, causing death and destruction for human and animal life. The most devastated national park in India has been Kaziranga in the north eastern corner of India. Sitting directly in the path of the great Brahmaputra River as it winds down from Tibet before entering Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal, Kaziranga, in early September, was completely submerged by flood waters. Outside of Nepal, Kaziranga is home to most of the remaining species of Indian one-horned rhinoceros that remain on earth. In the past 2 months alone, 31 rhinos drowned and 9 were slaughtered by poachers as they fled to higher ground. We have asked the Wildlife Protection Society of India [WPSI] to keep us informed if there is anything we can do to help protect these vulnerable rhinos. Another development which seems to be escalating to the general detriment of the entire National Park scheme is the emergence of organized crime which uses the parks as sanctuary for their various and nefarious activities. Not only are poachers threatening the endangered species of these 'protected sanctuaries,'- the forests themselves are being attacked by the timber mafia for the illegal cutting and transport of wood, and some parks are being used as sanctuaries for extremist political groups. The animals and forests are not, however, the only victims of this phenomenon. In 1998, thus far, at least 7 people have been murdered, and many more injured, while going about their daily jobs of protecting the forests and wildlife of India.
On February 16, 1998, at Palamau Tiger Reserve in the state of Bihar, a land mine killed two daily wage forest workers- Aziz Quraishi and Sukhdeo Parahiya. The mine was placed under the vehicle of Divisional Forest Officer S.E.H. Kazmi, the intended victim. Aziz and Sukhdeo, aged 32 and 36, respectively, left behind 11 children. The intended victim was gathering information against the timber smugglers protected by Naxalite guerrillas using the forest as sanctuary. The Fund For The Tiger responded to an appeal by the WPSI with a donation to help these families. Those who work in wildlife sanctuaries deserve all the support and protection that can be given to them.
When I visited Corbett National Park in 1997, I discussed with Field Director Mr. R.C. Gautam and Honorary Warden Mr. Brijendra Singh how The Fund For The Tiger could help Corbett protect its tigers from poachers. I am pleased to report that through consultations and co-ordination with the WPSI, we have purchased a boat to be used by the Corbett authorities for anti-poaching patrols in the normally inaccessible waterways. This will be especially valuable during the monsoon when poaching activities are most intense. I quote a letter from Ashok Kumar .. "it pleases me to inform you that on July 21st, 1998, the anti-poaching motor boat made available by the generosity of The Fund For The Tiger was handed over to Mr. R. C. Gautam, Field Director, Corbett Tiger Reserve. To show that the future of the tiger rests in the hands of the next generation, Mr. Gautam's young son cut the ribbon in a small ceremony, a prayer was said, and sweets were distributed to the Corbett staff and boatman."
We continue to offer our financial support for the WPSI project known as the 'Investigation into Poaching and Illegal Trade of Wild Tigers in India'. This ambitious project helps fund information gathering networks; conducts sting operations when illegal wildlife products come on the market; retains a network of lawyers to follow up arrests in the often ponderous and porous Indian legal system; investigates all poaching incidents throughout India; and supports anti-poaching efforts aimed at preventing the deaths of tigers and other endangered species. This program is aggressive and often dangerous for those involved. Quite simply, its goal is to put the wildlife traders out of business, and is worthy of our support.
PANTHERA TIGRIS
At the turn of the century there were 8 sub-species of tigers (Panthera Tigris) ranging across the vast Asian landmass from the Caspian Sea to the icy forests of the Siberian taiga of far northeastern Russia and south throughout most of Asia to the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java, and Bali.
So the answer to the often asked question, "How many tigers are left in the world?" must be a guestimate of between 4900 and 7300. [These figures are from a Spring 1998 report by Peter Jackson, Chairman of the Cat Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature]. The bottom line is, however, with the impending and seemingly inevitable extinction of the Chinese tiger, FOUR out of EIGHT sub species of tigers will have disappeared from earth, forever, in the latter part of this century!
Though it is clear that without financial contributions we could not support the work being done in Asia to help the tiger, other means of support and encouragement deserve our thanks.
The email address of The Fund For The Tiger means 'long live the tiger' in the Nepali language.
Bandhavgarh National Park [25 March 1998] Madhya Pradesh, India
Word came at lunch that a forest guard had spotted evidence of a fresh kill high atop the 900 ft. plateau that dominates all views from the forest below. The Bandhavgarh Fort is a beautiful collection of ancient ruins from civilizations past and home to an eccentric holy man who has lived there alone for 28 years. As we approached the top, the stomach of a large sambar deer was spotted along the side of the road. Nanda Rana, our guide/naturalist, got out of the jeep to have a look. Much to his surprise, just below the road at a watering hole, lay the tigress known as Sita and her three nearly full grown cubs. Startled, as were we, the tigers scampered up into the rocks not 50 yards away on the nearby hillside. Then all was still. A noise from above brought the tigers out and, one by one, they made their way up on to the high rock cliffs above us and disappeared again. Photography cannot do justice to the brilliant color and beauty of a tiger moving through it's natural habitat.
We got out of the jeep and sat on a large rock and waited. Glimpses of tigers silhouetted along the cliffs were occasionally possible with good binoculars bolstered by a healthy sense of imagination. After some time vultures began to circle the remains of the kill and alighted on the trees above. One by one the tigers began to move down out of the rocks to protect and regain their meal. At one point all four tigers came to rest on the same rock directly opposite us. Four faces of exquisite and indescribable beauty.
Sita's cubs are now nearly 2 years old and will soon disperse to a new habitat and an uncertain future. It was a moment of incredible good fortune and magic. We sat in stunned silence gazing at the four tigers resting on the rock. A whispering voice from the rock below summed up the moment... "my God, how could anyone kill something as beautiful as that."
BKW
If you wish to help, please send your contribution to The Fund For The Tiger at P.O. Box 2, Woodacre, California, 94973. The Fund For The Tiger is a tax exempt non profit public charity registered in the State of California.
Your contribution is deductible for tax purposes within the
limits of the law.
Sincerely,
Brian K. Weirum
Chairman
The Fund For The Tiger
Page last updated February 14, 1999
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