Only 1411 of them are left now in the country. Their skins are in demand for rugs, wall hangings and fur coats. Even medicines are made from their bones and other parts. Just eight months we lost a total of 66 more. Yes, It is Our national animal Sherkhan or tiger we are talking about. Blogging, writing, sms-ing – do whatever it takes to spread the message. Writes Mercy Barkakoty...The national animal of our nation is on the verge of extinction. A survey conducted by the Wildlife Protection Society of India has given us a clear image of the grievous situation. Different NGOs have also done a survey on its own and have come out with grim results. It depicts that in just eight months we lost a total of 66 tigers, which is a huge number in itself. The causes are manifold.
Blame it on poaching or disease or old age or man-animal conflict, we are moving a step ahead to losing the animal. Surely we do not wish our coming generation to find the tigers only in the history books. With rapid development the country is losing out its forests.
Where do the tigers go?? Their habitat is threatened by such developments.
There are just 1411 tigers left and the country must do something to stop this from happening.
Loss, fragmentation, and degradation of forests have been major factors in the decline of the tiger population. Illegal killing also plays an increasingly damaging role as tigers have become more vulnerable. Habitat loss remains a grave danger for the tiger, particularly in Asia. In India, where there is a human population problem, people are always looking for more room which infringes on the tiger habitat. When people reside close to tigers, they transform the ecological system with cattle and crops and this in turn harms the tigers.
Poaching of tigers has been playing a determining factor for the loss of the big cats. Tiger skins are in demand for rugs, wall hangings and fur coats. Even medicines are made from the bones and other parts of the tiger. The demand for such medicines is high in China and also in India. It is interesting to know that most of the tiger based drugs are found out only where there are Chinese communities. Poaching of tigers has also been prevalent in places like Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos where anti-poaching laws are lenient. We can say that China has a growing demand for tigers and this need to be sorted out as soon as possible.
The mating of tigers has also been a cause of concern. Recent surveys have found out that there are not enough female tigers compared to the male counterparts. Such a situation will only add to the decrease of the tigers.
Tiger being our national animal deserves the attention of the nation. Just 1411 tigers remaining – it is a grim situation. The government needs to go to that extra mile to save the tigers, not just save, but increase their numbers also. A strong political will is essential to curb the problem. Our country is a democracy. Let the voice of the general public be heard.We being responsible citizens can definitely spread the awareness and send the message loud and clear, "Save-the-Tiger" to the concerned authorities. Blogging, writing, sms-ing – do whatever it takes to spread the message. Let us stand united against poaching. Let us demand stricter punishment for the poachers, because unless the poachers are handled with an iron fists the situation will remain critical. Let us join hands to "SAVE THE TIGER". A small initiative by everyone and we can help preserve them. The national animal should and must be protected.Act responsibly, act now.
Statewise tiger deaths: from January 1 to August 19, 2009Source: Wildlife Protection Society of India.
Andhra Pradesh: 1 tiger poached, 1 skin seized
Assam: 6 tigers found dead, 1 found incapacitated dies, 1 shot dead by forest dept., 1 tigress poached, 5 kg bones, 4 canines and other body parts seized
Goa: 1 tiger poached
Karnataka: 6 tigers found dead, 4 tiger skins seized
Madhya Pradesh: 1 skin seized, 1 tigress poached, 10 tigers including 3 cubs found dead
Maharastra: 7 tigers including 3 cubs found dead.
Manipur: 2 skulls, 2 paws and 16 kg bones seized
Orissa: 1 tiger poached
Rajasthan: 1 tigress found dead
Tamil Nadu: 1 skin seized, 1 cub found dead
Uttar Pradesh: 2 tigers found dead, 1 tiger shot dead by forest dept., 30 kg bone seized
Uttarakhand: 6 tigers found dead, 1 skin and skeleton seized
W. Bengal: 1 tiger found dead, 2 skins and 1 skeleton seized
(Mercy is a Journalist based in Delhi. She did her English Journalism from Indian Institute Of Mass Communication (IIMC, New Delhi). She worked in a prestigious Publication House in Delhi. At present she's with one of the leading English news dailies in the country. Having a good experience of working with various NGO's specifically in North-East, She loves her motherland and takes great pride in writing about issues pertaining to North-Eastern part of India.)
Monday 15 February, 2010
Sherkhan's will only be in books then..
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8 comments:
Horror! Horror! Horror!
The dwindling numbers of Sherkhan is a symbol of horror. A horror that is waiting with some horrible consequences.
(Well done Mercy. Really a nice one, keep it up. All the very best.)
http://tthegladiator.wordpress.com/
kafi ach likha hai.......
lekin ek baat sab jan lo sirf online likh likh kar carbon utsarjan karne se kuch nahi hoga.......
humko financial support aur help NGOs ki karni hogi.....
jo koi bhi aapka post padh sakta hai wo tiger ka importance janta hai.....
but hume ground level k unpadh logo ko jagana hoga......
shikario ki help van vibhag wale hi karte hai.....
JAHAN tak aircel walo ki baat hai ye log IDEA ko takkar dene k liye ye sab jham kar rahe hai.....
jab inhi telecom firms se apne signal devices ko badlne ko kaha jata hai ,taki birds aur anya animals ko pareshani na ho.............to ansuna kar dete hai.........
sabhi ek ek rupia bhi jama kare to bhi 125 carore ho sakte hai......
jago india jago.....warna sher sirf sher banke raha jayega.....
Sukh sagar singh bhati
http://apnaakhar.blogspot.com/
this post is less personal...
Is se pehle ki van vibhag wale chun chun kar mare .....
shikari mare to acha hoga....
Tigers ko shikario se jyada forest dept. k adam khoro se hai....
yes it is real.....i have seen such things from my own eyes.....
mere frnd k father uttaranchal forest dept me hai....his father cuting trees of sandal and selling in nepal...
aur farji hi shikario aur aspas rehne wale villagers ko arrest karava dete hai.....
Handle whole save tiger project to private firm....
c yadav
lucknow
good one mercy...this really need attention...we can't let our sherkhan to be in book only....
well written Mercy.
In fact government is spending heavy amount on the name of saving tigers but we all know the result. Jairam Ramesh expressed his concern about the safety of tigers but his government is not taking any step and this is reflecting how much he and his government is concerned about the king of jungle. This is another issue for them on which they can play their political game. Now the crises of tigers is a political issue but not a single political party is taking any strong stand and making any kind of political pressure on establishment on this issue. It's a matter of great concern. It seems that only civil society can do something to save the pride of the nation.
मैं और मेरा शेरखान
जंगल-जंगल बात चली है, पता चला है रे...
अरे चड्डी पहन के फूल खिला है, फूल खिला है।
हर रविवार की सुबह दूरदर्शन पर इस गीत को सुनते और रोमांचित होते हुए पूरी पीढ़ी जवान हुई है। मोगली के लिए बने इस बेमिसाल गीत के टीवी पर चलते दृश्यों के समानांतर मन के भीतर एक चलती-फिरती तस्वीरों की श्रंखला भी चलती। एक रस्सी से दूसरी रस्सी पर उछलता मोगली, पेड़ों पर बैठे चंचल बंदर, मोगली के भाई भेडिय़े, बघीरा और अन्य जानवर। इनके साथ एक 'लार्जर देन लाइफ' किरदार बिल्कुल अलग से मस्तिषक में कई-कई तरह के रस से भरे रसायनों का संचार करता था। यह किरदार शेरखान का था। शेर, बब्बरशेर, विलेन, डरावना, बड़ा, विशाल, भीमकाय, खौफनाक, शक्तिशाली, मोगली का दुश्मन और आततायी - ये सब कई रूप हम जैसे छोटे तकनीक-संसार-वास्तविकताओं और जिम्मेदारियों से अंजान बच्चों के मन में बसते चले गए थे।
अब डर है कि आने वाली पीढ़ी ऐसी किसी मासूम और लैजेंडरी फिल्मकथा पर जवान नहीं होगी। हैरी पॉटर और नॉर्निया तो है, मगर इनकी कोई छाप नहीं है। एक-दो और ज्यादा से ज्यादा तीन बार देखा और इन फिल्म-फंतासी कथाओं की सीमांत उपयोगिता खत्म।
ये सब बातें फिर से याद हो आई। टीवी पर आजकल जब 'सेव द टाइगर' विज्ञापन में एक नन्हे शावक को अपनी मां की तलाश करते देखता हूं, तो मैं द्रवित हो उठता हूं। ये सारा वर्णन इसलिए कि भारत के इतने विशाल और प्राकृतिक रूप से समृद्ध देश में अब सिर्फ 1411 शेर ही जीवित बचे हैं। बाकी सभी शेर शिकारियों और तस्करों की बंदूक या फंदे का निशाना बन गए। मोगली की कहानी के शेरखान ने डराते ही सही, हमें अपने इतना करीब कर लिया कि आज दुख होता है।
no doubt very well written.......
today again we have come forward to save tigers.
i m little worried that the initiative of saving tigers will work or it will again fall loosely
i think every common man who read these articles just for knowledge should stand together and ask government to take a decisive action to save tigers
otherwise these well written articles will go in vain and soon we will find sherkhan in only books.
At first thanks a lot to all of u for your valuable comments. It might be just a comment for you, but for me it is a step towards developing my writing in such issues.
@parveen,
tx parveen, yes it is indeed a horror and we need to stop it from happening.
@sukh sagar,
aapne ek alag angle se dekha hai. U gave me 1 more way to see things. I really appreciate ur comment. Agar ho to hume khud hi kuch karna chahiye. Par mujhe lagta hai ki ye aircell theek kar raha hai. Not that i support them but the fact that they are actually involving in a cause. Profit to ye log banayenge, par ek cause ko v samne laa rahe hai.So lets stand for the cause.
@chetan yadav
I really liked ur less personal post.. It opens ones eyes to the ground realities.
@bijayani
Tx for the support
@himangshu shekhar
Yes, any issue in India becomes a ladder to political upliftment. It is a major issue with all the parties. But i just hope inspite of these political games, the govt succeeds in saving the tiger.
@gajender
U have reminded me of my childhood. Junglebook is hard to forget. Mougli without Sherkhan would have been incomplete.True that we need to preserve the tigers for our next generation.
@gaurav
Tx for speaking my heart.This is what I wanted when I had posted this article. Not just read it but do something for it.
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