Save The Tiger ? Don't Be An Ostrich.. | INDImag - Contemporary fiction | Motivational short stories | Social stories

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Save The Tiger ? Don’t Be An Ostrich..

By Madhu Rao • February 25, 2010

Unless you are a poacher servicing the illegal Tiger parts trade that goes from India, via Nepal into China ; or you are an imbecile ; or you are a heartless sadistic pig, you will have little to no issues agreeing to the urgent need to save our national animal — The Tiger, inching closer to extinction by the minute. People directly affected by Tiger conservation — villagers of surrounding areas forced to evacuate, tribals who depend on forest for lively-hood and politicians getting kickbacks from the smuggling aside, most would easily concede arguing against saving this magnificent beast is moot and stupid.

The above moot argument taken off the table, what is not so moot about Aircel’s ‘Save Our Tigers’, sponsored by Aircel ; Aircel, the 5 th largest mobile company in India (get the drift yet ?), is that, it is a sorry case of an ill conceived social campaign. But, dare ask a question, raise an honest doubt and people(arm chair pundits raw on emotion) brand you a traitor who is not concerned about India’s national animal. Some even ask you to support or plain shut up.

Shut up, I cannot. Why ? Because I do not have my head way up my behind to just follow without asking basic questions ; because, so far, what I see from Aircel and team is pathetic ; because our Government has all of the controls and has failed miserably, repeatedly over the last 4-5 decades ; because if we do not get serious, Tigers will go the Cheetah way (extinct in India for 60 years now).

Unlike many who just want to jump in on the populist bandwagon – join the ‘Stripey Club’, add a sticker and get a ‘Wah Wah‘ by a team of groupies on FaceBook, really helping Stripey and his ilk needs serious work. Add to that, ‘Aircel – WWF’ who are stage managing this effort do not seem to have things in order to pull off something worthwhile. Blanket the air-waves and get people talking, they have done. But what’s next ? Care for a closer look ?

A moving video that has a cute cub, who has lost his mother to poachers stirs emotions and goads you to http://www.saveourtigers.com. Once on the site, Dhoni, kids’ art work and the innocent cub hold your attention and solidify your resolve to help the cause. But that soon changed for me as I looked around on the website. It is pathetic.

I proffered my email and wanted to ‘JOIN THE ROAR’. But after 10 attempts and 10 ‘ This Square
Save Our Tigers Join the Roar ? But I cannot !

Was Just Taken..’ , I moved on ; sans roar-ing. The only good thing about it was that people –169520 and counting were on Stripey’s side and I was fighting them for a square..
I meandered into ‘TIGER RESERVES’ tab on the site, hoping to see a count of Tigers by each reserve/park, maybe an update on the current status, the history, efforts underway ? But….., I got two lines and a note ‘Knowledge of these sanctuaries helps build awareness for the cause. ‘ and a wikipedia, ‘Project Tiger’ fed map of tiger density.
I decided to see ‘WHAT CAN I DO’ tab and not let the ill-conceived JOIN THE ROAR and TIGER RESERVE deter me. I was happy to see I could do a whole lot ; or that’s what I thought. Unlike the other pages, this looked like a decent webpage and not a quickly mashed up page with 2-3 lines of platitudes and cliches. But the joy was short lived.
Be Informed ?
BE INFORMED listed a bunch of PDFs from Times of India to Sahara. The joke was on me for expecting good information and some authored content by experts in the field. Wasn’t this about ‘connecting experts with people’ ? Where is that connection ? Maybe the BLOG I thought and went onto it. There were 3 half hearted posts, first with 2500+ comments, second with 250+ and the latest one with 20+ comments . Talk of comments following the tigers to extinction !
DONATE had a link to WWF donation site. I can add a shopping cart and credit card processing on my site in a few hours and they ask you to go onto WWF ? So much for all the IT acumen we have….
LEAD THE CHANGE and SPEAK UP just spoke of creating the buzz and were equally stupid. People are speaking up, you have the buzz ; but what next ? No answers there…

Volunteer ?

You get the drift. If the website is any indication, sans giving some FaceBook and SMS candy for people to drool, this is pathetic and re-iterates all things wrong with managing a cause that is so dear to people(judging by the immense responses). This has the makings of a flash in the pan project that will fizzle out. ‘Volunteer For Our Tigers’ they say : sure, how ? “..contact an NGO..” they say. Is that the best they could do ? ‘Contact an NGO ?’ Some more pearls of wisdom ? Read the one liners for ‘Responsible Tourist’ and ‘Preservation Of Natural Resources’ alongside.

The final straw for me was lack of any information on what Aircel was committing to. Are they matching rupee for every rupee donated ; or maybe 50 paise for every rupee ? and what about the SMS-es sent on their network ? Pay 1/2 the revenue ? No answers on any of that, just their logo stares back. ‘creating mass awareness about the diminishing tiger population and engaging the youth to spread the message, especially in the digital space ‘ was the goal per Aircel’s COO, but they seem clueless about what next in their 3-year promised commitment.

Add to the above, the following :

Project Tiger was a colossal disappointment ; so is it’s successor. Needless to say, Government has not been on the Tiger’s side and per Valmik Thapar, ‘The Tiger Expert of India’ , “.. 100% of the forest land is with the Government. If the Government want’s to save the Tiger it can and if it want’s to let it get to extinction, it can as well.. ” . But will the Government do anything than lip service ?
This great Government of ours tried to frame experts who disagreed with it’s unscientific, outdated numbers in Sariska (watch BBCs videos attached) only to later admit, shamelessly, that they did preside over the poaching of 40+ tigers and that their usage of pug-mark counting was as outdated as bartering.
China has between 18 and 24 wild tigers, down from over 4,000 in the 1950s. They don’t care about wilds but they want to legalize ‘Tiger Farms’ to produce tiger parts for it’s traditional medicines. The same medicine market that creates huge poaching issues for it’s neighbor India. But Indi-Chini bhai bhai and lets admit, we are shit scared of the Chinese and sans some sound bytes, we will do little to anger the red army. And it’s the tigers stupid, not pandas we are talking about !
Poachers weilding AK-47s (Kaziranga) must have a good laugh at the Government supplied lathis and 0.315 rifles forest rangers carry before spraying them with their automatics. Again, we citizens cannot supply AK-47s to our police or forest rangers. The Government has to and they won’t.
Recent Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act and it’s kinds threaten existing parks leave alone protecting them more. Again, our Government at work, against the Tiger.
Per our honorable Government’s rules, it is still profitable to poach, get caught, pay a fine and still make a profit !
Brenda Wright, WPSI was apalled that in the case of Panna Tiger Reserve losing its last 24 tigers, lack of coordination between center and states resulted in tragedy: She stated that the Central team ignored warnings by the Madya Pradesh authorities. Sound familiar ?
Cheetas have been extinct in India for 60 years now and we will get there with the Tiger if we do not get serious.

Saving the wild tiger cannot just be about saving our national animal. It is about securing a long-term future for tigers, the forests they live in and the people who depend on those forests for their survival. It needs commitment from our esteemed Government for it alone controls most of what’s needed to save the Tigers. We need a lot more than FaceBook to do that ? If you have any doubts why a majority of Stripey’s fans have joined, just read the comments on FB and the blog — makes a hilarious read.

Online media can help start debates, raise the money, attempt to force the ever erring Government to be accountable. But do these high on hormones FB types put their money where their mouths are ? Look at the dwindling interest in commenting and tweeting to get an answer. For most, it’s a cutesy badge to adorn their blogs.

So, don’t just shut up and follow for now, only to jump ship 2 weeks later when they start a campaign to save Farmville’s chicken or that lost bull. Ask questions, dig for answers. The last time I checked, discussion was still the backbone of democracy. Shutting up isn’t. Never was.

Talk, so we can REALLY HELP STRIPEY. Talk, and not bury our heads in the sand or way up our behinds. People who care, talk ; people who blindly support or people who just shut-up, don’t care. Not talking is way too easy ; as easy as joining the ever so silly groups sprouting on Facebook. This is a good initiative ; if the people who have thrown their weight behind this magnificent animal keep up the pressure on the ones who initiated this and not let them reduce it to a publicity stunt, we will still have something good.

Shut up ? Please don’t..

1411 ? More like 1000

Save Tigers ? Don't Be An Ostrich at the top of IndiVine Chart

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Categories: DESH
Tags: Aircel, conservation, Enchanting India, extinction, FEATURES, Predator, Project Tiger, publicity, Save, Save Our Tigers, tiger, valmik thapar, WWF

About the Author

Madhu Rao

I'm Madhu Rao. You know how blogs and discussions are supposed to be dynamic and exciting but they're usually dull and boring? I have some practical ideas to present them in an entertaining way -- with your help. The result, hopefully, is that people stay awake, have a good time, and return-contribute to INDIMAG. I'm the publisher-founder of INDIMAG and would love to hear from you as to how we are doing. Drop me a line at indimag@gmail.com ie indimag [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions, thoughts, ideas or a plain "Hello". I would appreciate it.

Blog :

drsurajjkhare

now its a high time to give all back to (our)tigers what we have snatched from them.
their shelters,their respect, and many more....
govt is only passed the bill in parliments,and that fund goes where nobody knows....
forest department is now become a REST department.....
Now its our duty to stop further cruelity towards TIGERS....
Pls, let us gather together to save most beautiful animal on our planet....
Do atleast some contribution in the form of Time, funds , activities as per our iterest.....
TIGER

Some year after we see tiger in only ZOO. & our SON/Daughter are know how see the tiger.
TIGER

Tiger r our National Animal So. PLz. Don't died him.& SAVE Our NATIONAL ANIMAL
sharanyakedarnath

India’s national animal:the tiger,also known as the lord of the jungles,a tiger symbolises a major part or rather the entire wildlife of India, always known for its grace,strenght,agility and immense power,due to which it has earned great respect and self esteem.An animal with so many qualities ,which once constituted a great amount of the animal population,is now barely left to a mere number of 1411 in our entire country.Various programmes and campaigns may be held to save are tigers but still poaching of tigers take place in many parts of are country which lead to this figure of the tigers left in India.I strongly agree with u,as merely by writing blogs on saving tigers nothing will take place. It is now high time that we stand up for the sake of saving our national animal and not reach some point where it would be too late and our tigers would be merely left in books of history!!
Madhu | INDImag.com

Sorry for the late reply Sharanya, was pre-occupied ..

I couldn't agree more. If all it needed was blog fodder, I'm sure we would do a post an hour. I'm more convinced than even in the last few days that this is a sham ; will have a post in a few days.

It is insulting, belittling and stupid that Aircel & Co have done little since the publicity Blitz. Our national animal is in peril and these morons used it as a publicity stunt...
Aanchaljain

The first campaign started to save tigers in the 80s was a major disaster with the rate of poaching increasing massively during the campaign. Infact, the most number of Tigers were killed during that period. Getting one of the finest actors in filmdom, Naseeruddin Shah, also did not do much for the campaign. The reason then investigated for the poaching was the trade of the tiger skin to our friendly and "violence-abhorring" neighbouring country Tibet.
Various videos have been found on the use of tiger skins as masks in their festivals.
infact china has more than 6000 tigers in captivity to protect them. Perhaps India must follow suit
As per the WPSI it was reported that the total number of tigers killed in bengal from 1994 to 1998 has been 395 however, the statistics are highly fragmentary.
As regarding the aircel campaign, I think it was a "GREAT" step. I personally got the information about the th diminishing number of tigers from the very same Aircel campaign. I completely agree that they might not be doing much to propagate the campaign but the very first initiative came from them. The news now is available on the net but aircel was the first to actually bring it to the notice of the common man. And as regarding what we can do to promote the cause: "just pass on the message". I remember getting a forward a few days back that said "eat Parle-G not tiger only 1411 left". Found it really amusing and probably one of the possible ways to spread the awareness. I personally think that the govt alone can handle this issue. All of us are surely coming up with various ides but it might just be the best for the govt to take an action immediately. And that must be to breed all the remaining tigers in captivity. It might sound like a drastic and harsh step but with the present circumstances can we afford to take milder actions? The animal right workers might oppose the idea calling it "inhuman" but I hope they do not want the "80s" scenario to come back because we do not have the same large number of tigers anymore to spare to our "friendly" neighbours.
By joining the community on facebook ,yes, we are supporting the cause. All we are doing by joining these communities is spreading the message. By joining an NGO do you guys expect to do any better? A non-governmental NGO can hardly do anything more than just spreading the cause, as the govt would not allow them to take any actions pertaining our "national animal's" diminishing number.
Finally i personally and STRONGLY recommend that we try spreading the message rather than just lamenting about the lack of support from the government. Probably our message or suggestions might reach the authorities if we actually try participating in one of the here "oppsed" campaign. I, on a personal level, would love to participate in one of them.
The Mad Hatter

Well, talk about 'armchair pundits raw with emotion'!
Of course, you have every right to diss it (that's quite fashionable too, i suppose) but i think you're the one missing the point.
Firstly, one must realize corporations like Aircel always have an ulterior motive - to promote their brand. By nature of a stock-led corporate, that takes precedence over anything else. So yes, it will always be a 'marketing gimmick', if you please.
That out of the way, the only ones who don't have such motives are people like you (perhaps) and me. So we are the ones who can take things forward.
The facebook page has been an excellent forum for discussions and thank to it, people have met at entirely self-organized events across the country. I myself went to the one in Delhi, organized by a superb bunch of people who have now started an NGO working with Mike Pandey's Earth Matters Foundation, called Voice of Wild.
Until we met, none of us had a clue either about how we could really help in concrete terms. But we were determined to find it, and we are constantly making progress. If you follow the discussions now, you will find a lot more such events planned in the near future.
Why can't Aircel help? Because as a corporate, they cannot risk offending the government an iota, because they have the power to bleed their business to death (and i'm talking out of experience here). They cannot be seen instigating people against the government who controls everything related to the tigers with an iron fist. That's why they have to say '1411' left even though it's common knowledge that the number is exaggerated.
They are already risking a lot more than you can imagine.
And why should they? They started the campaign (for whatever motive), they made people wake up, so it's our turn now. This attitude of smirking and saying 'how does this help?' will not take us anywhere, would it?
It was an awareness campaign. If you're aware, that's good. Maybe it's time you thought of doing something about it. Believe me, you'll not be alone. Otherwise, i fail to see how you're any different from the very people you're dismissing as paying lip-service to the with-it cause.
Just because you and your friends are aware of it, does not mean the whole country is. I was not, my friends were not, most of the people who are now collaborating in organizing events were not aware of the gravity of the situation. Awareness, here, is more important than anything else because until the people don't care (which i'm sure they still don't), how can we expect our elected officials to care? Where will the accountability come from?

I realize i've gone on for too long. Please understand that my aim here is not to argue or insult anybody. All i'm saying is skepticism is fine, cynicism is not.
I do hope Aircel and WWF and whoever else is involved will do more in the future (if only for their own motives), but i'm glad for whatever little they've done and i'm not sitting around waiting for them to do it. And i hope others aren't doing that either.
Madhu | INDImag.com

The Mad Hatter,
Welcome to INDImag. I'm so happy you took the pains to explain your perspective at length. I truly am. You called me a cynic, I will hopefully show by the end of this response why I'm being pragmatic while you, hopelessly optimistic. If hopeless optimism helped the feline, trust me I would self hyponotize myself to be such. But truth is far from it.

1. Aircel-WWF started this campaign and did not have anything to back it up. The 3 posts on Stripey's blog have declining comment count 2500+(first)->250(second)->30(latest) .

2. As detailed in the post, the saveourtigers.com and it's blog is a joke. A 'smoke and mirrors' sans substance site. The site has not been updated in 2-3 weeks ; my comments are in-moderation for a week and a half now. It is bleeding goodwill and interest as we speak.

3.Valmik Thapar and many Tiger experts have lamented that sans Govt we can do nothing, nada, zilch and you start an NGO with little to no funding and hope to help ? I would love to hear how ? If there is a plausible way, trust me, I'll get on board.

4. Self-admittedly you and your friends who started the NGO had no clue that the Tiger was on the brink of extinction and now you are the champions ? That gives me immense confidence that this 10 people galli start-up by people who are investing their spare time and truck loads of emotions will succeed where our Govt and the likes of WWF have failed in the last 4 decades ; not to mention with millions in funding..

5.Aircel does have an ulterior motive : Thank you for agreeing to it. I agree it isn't bad if it becomes a win-win situation. My ire is at this being turned into just a propaganda tool, in the name of saving Tigers, while Aircel's popularity rises even as Tiger's numbers fall. Isn't that bad ? Isn't that using this cause to gain publicity ?

Don't give me that 'Aircel is in this to just raise awareness'. They said they have committed to supporting this cause for 3 years ; they said they met officials for months before this ; so why does none of that show ? Why is it that they have little to no authored content and why is it that they can just conjure some stupid news paper clippings for their site ? will they just make ads for 3 years while washing their hands off the fact that little is being done for the animals themselves ?

Just raising awareness with nothing lined up to protect the endangered animal is akin to selling ring side tickets to the Tiger's funeral ?

6. Maybe it's time you thought of doing something about it. Believe me, you'll not be alone. Otherwise, i fail to see how you're any different from the very people you're dismissing as paying lip-service to the with-it cause. : Fortunately i do put my money where my mouth is. Read my response to Avada above that starts with "Avada, you are taking this way too personally :-) . This is not just about one individual. What do you think is the 2nd..".

http://www.shambala.org

Do look at their site. It is threadbare, no fancy roars, no Aircels. They do request for donations -- 'feel free to bring any of the following items : Paper Clips, Tapes, Pens, Post It Notes..' they ask.

Look into their Education tab. They list facts about the cats they have. Click thru for more info and you will see the cats themselves -- name, background et al. When in there, do say "Roar" to my buddy Chuckie (we 3 friends send in 25 a piece monthly towards his sponsorship)

I can keep going, but it is of little use. Please revert back with facts and statistics and not rash generalizations that people who oppose are cynics. Admittedly you had no clue about the Tigers till a few days ago and now you are it's biggest champion sir/ma'am ? Give me facts on what exactly is it that this campaign has done ; give me numbers ; get me the website for your NGO ; an address ; a way how people can join/support/help. If not you are creating MINI-MEs of saveourtiger.com and you are hurting the cause than helping it. Imagine 1000s of NGO sprouting up everywhere and raising money, ruckus alike. This further proves how ill-managed and stupid this is getting to be.
The Mad Hatter

I guess i failed to get my point across. Or maybe you refuse to see it.
That's the difference between a skeptic and a cynic i was pointing to earlier.
I never said their marketing campaign was anywhere near being perfectly crafted. All i'm saying is that it doesn't really matter.

And i'm no 'hopeless optimist'. I've met many people and heard horrid tales that have me convinced it's just a matter of time before the cats go extinct.
But i still got involved in this because i see a minuscule flicker of hope in the people supporting it and their ideas. In Mike Pandey and Belinda Wright and the WWF and many more. And because you can't just give up and shut up, right? Of course, people laugh at you and ridicule you, but you do what you think you should. Maybe it works, maybe it's a waste of time. But how's it worse than doing nothing?
You know that despite no dearth of funding, the WWF has failed for years, but do you know why? Have you spoken to them about it? Or is all your extensive knowledge based on Valmik Thapar on the tube?

I suppose this conversation isn't going nowhere, but i'd still like to know where exactly i called myself 'the champion'?
To paraphrase myself, 'we had no clue earlier but we're constantly making progress'.
Didn't know that equaled 'champion'.

I'm sorry i have no statistics about the campaign. All it has done for me is make me aware of the gravity of the issue and indirectly give me a chance to help in a small way.
Beyond that, i couldn't care less whether it's a success or a failure, whether it sells Aircel connections or not. Like i said, i do hope it gets better, but i'm not sitting around waiting for that.

Anyway, i think we can agree to disagree. And the galli people would love to send you the link once the site is up. Until then you can find them on the facebook page, if you would deign to go there.
Madhu | INDImag.com

Must be me. Like I mentioned to Avada in my reply, unlike you, I just cannot say 'it really doesn't matter' and support a big corporation that's mis-using a crisis to benefit from it. I'm not saying Aircel is yet. But from the signs that this article points out (and not my gut, gumption or plain emotion), it seems like it is just a marketing blitz using a vanishing species. That to me is despicable and not worthy of support.

Did you even read the post ? Belinda Wright you rave about is the same person in that video that you saw ! Do you even recognize her ? She is blasting the Govt cover up along with Valmik Thapar. Maybe my YouTube knowledge is after all better than your ignorance ?

I'm not disputing the fact that the campaign has brought attention. I'm also not suggesting we NOT DO anything. So unless you are looking for a fight, don't parrot that. I'm just saying it's against my grain to support a charade being orchestrated in the name of a just cause ; a cause where we are about to lose a precious species. Again my supporting Shambala, which you conveniently choose to ignore vs you joining a FB page ? I'll let you be the judge of who's doing more.

'we had no clue earlier but we're constantly making progress'. Like what ? I'm grappling for something to help me grasp what is it that you are doing. I asked specifically 'Give me facts on what exactly is it that this campaign has done ; give me numbers ; get me the website for your NGO ; an address ; a way how people can join/support/help.' and you respond with 'we are making progress?'. Talk specific points ; refute what I've said with concrete data and I'll be more than happy to re-assess what I said. I cannot do that on a sea of platitudes and cliches.

I think the biggest differentiator is that 'you couldn't care less whether it's a success or a failure' per your own admission. I do. And for that reason, I support what works, not what's the hype now. It is our duty to assess what's smoke and mirrors and what isn't. I appreciate the fact that you went to these meetings but if you have a feeling that it may go waste, isn't it your duty to find out more if this initiative was a charade ? How can you say you don't care ?

I'd be more than happy to have this discussion if it pertains to facts and figures. If it's based on your hope ; on your emotional investment in Aircel's project with a wish that this works, I'm sorry, you live in a fool's paradise I do not wish to enter. Talk facts, answer to the questions raised logically and sensibly and I'll be more than happy to explain my views on the same..

I did visit (not join) the 'Voice of Wild' FB page and giving credit where one's due, you guys seem to have done well. I looked thru the events and discussion and it is a lot better than the inactivity/lack of information on SOT website. I wish you the best. As a matter of fact I would have rathered you use your real name and commented. It would have helped your cause. Do something good and we at INDImag will be more than happy to feature what you did. On the contrary, fold up and do not deliver, we will feature you along with a host of other such groups that did little. If you are sincere and committed, we would love to help you. We are friends of whoever is sincere to this cause.
Shruthi

Yes the most abused animal (of late) has been on the verge of extinction since long and its only now that we see people waking up. truly well written post Madhu. I think we need to face the reality and act. I seriously don't know how far this campaign is going to help. there has to be another way for contribute and it is not by hiring Dhoni and Surya to campaign.
Madhu | INDImag.com

Thanks Shruthi :-) . I agree. The bad part so far has been little to no plan beyond the publicity blitz !
Shruthi

isspelling mishtake aagoytu ..I meant- *to contribute* my bad :P am I sleepy or what! Hobbes check if there are any monsters under my bed willya. (keeping the spirit of this post alive :))
Madhu | INDImag.com

:-)
chetan

yes tigers are going to be extinct..
we know it all since a long time, and this fact is used very smartly, for some political parties growth..
but, in reality nothing has been done, yes campaigns do create awareness that some species are on the verge of extinction, but there should be campagins guiding the people, to indulge in the activities which could play a little part in saving those species..

I even don't know how to do it, but that's what I think about it
Madhu | INDImag.com

Good to see you did know Tigers were on the brink of extinction pre-SaveOurTigers. I hate politicians of all stripes, but if anyone did some good, it was Indira Gandhi like what Karan Singh talk in the video below. She meant business and people did not fool around ; but from 90-till now, it has been 2 decades of apathy...

I'm hoping Aircel and co can add something substantial to sustain their buzz..
saraswathan

I am in agreement with Madhu because, being aware is one thing and doing something to prevent the extinction is quite another. We have done precious little to protect this endangered specie and it is time we woke up lest we have to explain in detail about the animal called Tiger from cartoon strips to our future generation!!
Madhu | INDImag.com

Thank you sir. We have done precious little indeed and if this turns out to be a charade then God save the Tiger...
Hari

Let me begin by saying that I am not a poacher, imbecile or a sadistic pig. But I do not really understand the save the tiger initiative that happens whenever a report about the tiger population comes up. Is the tiger important because it is our national animal or is it because it is great looking mammal like us?

Studies have shown that the rice species is becoming extinct at an alarming rate (China which is one of the biggest rice producers says that 84% of wild rice species is close to extinction). Would we not be better off spending this energy on saving rice, wheat and other plant species that are critical for our survival?

Many believe that the tiger population cannot be saved in the wild since the population has gone below survivable levels. I think that we are better off planning for what we can do now (collecting DNA, Sperms & eggs) so that we master artificial insemination before extinction happens in the wild (there are projects ongoing to resurrect the Tasmanian tiger that went extinct about 50 years ago). Maybe we can learn from that project.

I wrote an article about the tiger a couple of weeks ago. I will add the link here. I hope you don't mind:

http://indiafirsthand.com/?p=1430
Madhu | INDImag.com

Hari,
I have read your articles and agree you are none of those :-) . Sorry, disappointment and anger was rife and I did resort to generalizations. I do agree that we create a furor when the numbers come out and then forget it as easily and move onto more important things like Rakhi ka Swayamvar or Aish-Abhi's baby quest. The call to save Tigers as opposed to other species is indeed deep rooted in it being a magnificient animal and it being our national animal. I personally do not subscribe to saving one and letting another species die, but then again, I do not subscribe to some animals being food and some pets either ; so comes naturally to me :-) . But a large part of the reason is it's beauty and that it's a symbol of pride. Just like the Pandas for the Chinese. They will let Tigers be hunted to extinction but move mountains for the Panda..

You bring up great points about rice and Tasmanian tiger. I do agree that we ought to step up our efforts at 'mastering artificial insemination before extinction'. It is helping re-introduce the Pandas and stabilize the wild population to some extent and Pandas are a lot more tough customers with insemination, gestation and child care..

About your article, not at all ! Please feel free to quote or link. All relevant material on the topic ; all relevant arguments are to be discussed and brought to the fore. So, on the contrary, "Thank You" for posting it ..
Naureen

Madhu,

This was a great post even though I felt helpless and paralyzed. I yearn to do something in any small way. The apathy of the government is devastating. And don't even get me started on the Chinese 'tiger farms' and exploitation of animals for human use.
The pearls of wisdom ('contact an NGO'...which one?) exposed by you were priceless.
I am a great admirer of Sierra Club in the US. They have actively championed environmental causes and local involvement at so many levels. I wish for a similar organization in India.

Thanks for this post.
Madhu | INDImag.com

Naureen,
Thank you :-) . If not evident, helplessness and anger at this showing signs of just being a charade ; a muse like Mano said is what I felt too. Like Thapar laments, it's no cleaning up the rain gutters on our streets that we can do anything sans the Govt and the Government like you rightly note does little ! Sierra club is a great cause to support. Fortunately a lot of Tiger preservation of Indian Tigers happens far away from India, like in the US where they have semi-wild areas like the Shimbala preserve I mentioned in my response to Avada. Their site, thereadbare on fancy gimmickry is rich in what they do, support and makes you want to help. Do take a look, it's heartening :-) .
Narendra

Firstly i agree that if I disagree with something and i have all the rights to do so then i must not be asked to SHUT UP by the ones who agree! In short! we often find cases that the people who are against the 'voice against something..blah blah' are heavily bulldozed with accusations(of not being patriotic enough in this case..why is it so??well what animal are we talking about and is it not our national animal..?.one must then know that they dont have any rights to talk for the one horned rhinos or those gharials or those maques!! because these species don't have special status! huh!)

then...the save tiger campaign is almost become like facebook quizzes...or other popular games...see..have you answered questions about your friend?have you build a mafia for god-damned virtual wars?have you grown enough corn to make India self sufficient?is your zoo full?is your aquarium stinking?are your pets alive and happy? did you adopt a tiger?? HUH? ?
thats the blow here..when almost all your friends join these pages and grps you somehow urself 'join the cause' reluctantly or otherwise! tell me one good thing what it does to those 1411 tigers left? ?

Its high time we stopped using social causes to advertise our brands! see I am not saying it is wrong completely---the greenathon sponsored by toyota was totally worth it(well at least on the face of it..lets face it ...I lead the list of skeptics and cynics :P )

And then i remember another such save the big cat campaign by NDTV...what happened there?? we and our kids signed large sheets to persuade th POLICY MAKERS to MAKE SOME POLICIES(for a change) ..hey wait does that signing not go against your IDEA save paper campaign?

Madhu i told you I wont read the review of MNIK before watching it,i dint..and i read this post before joining the site. :P :P glad i read this..
anyways

Owing to the pressures and pricks from all the corners even i tried to ROAR with others...the site is fancy but as you point out it is bullshit..because I dont wanna know something that i already know..what i can do??? answer to it is a mockery.. its like the entire campaign answers it like this--what will you do now???(devil laughter)

I salute to those NGOs out there(where there are tigers and people too)who work consistently and never come in the lime light..

I still would wanto have an expert opinion(preferably from Aircel-wwf only :P) about WHAT I CAN DO? please dont tell me about blogging...who reads it?? and even if someone does at the end of the day nothing happens...i will be in an illusion that i have done something ...I agree that govt has lots to do ...agar aircel ka naam hatakar 'issued in public interest' lagao toh manenge..heheh

PS:ppl who disagree with me,dont be cruel to me..i have taken lots of pains to type so much :P
Madhu | INDImag.com

Naren, Thank for the comment. NDTV campaign is a good point. What did that achieve ? I couldn't agree more to you statement that we ought to help/donate/publicize the NGOs than give Aircel airtime. Even with Aircel, commit to a plan than just blanket the airwaves. Creating a buzz and awareness that will get forgotten in a month is insulting to the cause and people who support it...
Manorama Ukidve

Standing ovation for this post Madhu !!!
This was MUCH MUCH MUCH needed.
At last someone has put pen, thought and heart to paper and so glad it's you.
Ever since the "Save our Tigers" campaign has been launched, it's been pathetic to watch this majestic animal being reduced not just in number but also to an object of ridicule. Hungry internet hawks have just swooped down and converted what is meant to be an alarm bell for Indians concerning the diminishing number of tigers into - hang it all - A muse !! People are blogging, commenting, quoting, twittering/tittering away as though they have been depraved of sensationalism for years.Forget Aircel's cause or commitment, who by the way seems to be India's self appointed Salvation Army ( if they are truly sincere about it, Good for them and for us !), the reaction of Indians to the very fact that there are 1411 tigers is ridiculous and shameful.Is this what our education has been reduced to?
And yeah, what you have said about reading the comments on Stripey's blog and on FB is exactly one such example!
The tigers are at the mercy of the government alone, unlike us, they cannot pack their bags and get a green card to a better life. Why say better-in their case it's a question of life itself
We may have progressed in giant leaps where communication networking -in short spearding the word and "creating awareness" is concerned.. but seems to me we have left our hearts, minds and souls far far behind...
Once again this is a great post. Thank you !
Madhu | INDImag.com

I'm happy a few do share my ire Mano. I hope I'm proven wrong and this effort does succeed ; I hope Aircel-WWF do convert this into something worthwhile and not let it fizzle and be a joke. But the indicators are bad ...

I find it increasingly shameful that till this Stripey club, many FB hooked people did NOT know Tigers were being poached to extinction ? If yes, I'm sure the remaining 1000 will commit suicides ! Doling out filmi 'what are we doing that we dare fault the Govt' is moot here. This is no cleaning drive for our colony that anyone can pull it off sans Govt. And writing to Govt ? Sure !

Btw, looks like the twittering has already moved on from Tiger to Tendlya ? :-)
Avada Kedavra

I really think it is creating little amount of roar. I never knew that tigers were becoming extinct (being in US, I hardly read Indian news) and after seeing their website, I understood that it was a serious issue. Their idea is just creating "awareness", they never said they have plans to rescue tigers. Awareness is very important. More people know about the issue, the better.
Madhu | INDImag.com

No arguing on the fact that it did create a stir. Aircel in their capacity have blanket-ted the airwaves and their media campaign has been anything but success. I have been in the US for 13 years and most people I know have known the fate of our Tigers. Project Tiger was started by Indira Gandhi in 1973, so we have had this problem for roughly 4 decades.

..Aircel CMO Rahul Saighal described the 'Save the Tiger' effort at the Brand Summit, noting that Aircel has made a three year commitment after having spent months working with wildlife experts purely to understand how best to support this cause.

So a 3 year commitment to create awareness ?

Spent months with WWF and what we see is wikipedia re-hash ? Where's the material ? How come none of the experts are opining on their site ?

And if they do NOT have plans to do much beyond awareness, it's even worse. They want the people to step in, volunteer et al and they will just create awareness ? Awareness about an issue people knew from 1970s ?
Avada Kedavra

Sorry for clogging your comment section. But even whales and seals are getting extinct and US has programs in place to propagate this msg. When I last time went to a place here, that lady was stressing on how they were diminishing. It doesnt mean anything to me at all. I am not the one who is hunting whales or seals. I am not the one eating their flesh. It is just for awareness. They have huge posters in place even though they know that Americans dont eat their flesh and some other country does. Awareness is really important especially for a country like ours where people say "how does it matter to me if tigers die", "who cares". Everyone has to care because we share the planet!! And they should know that.
Madhu | INDImag.com

You are missing the point Avada. My first paragraph says it's moot to argue against a need to do whatever it takes to save the Tigers. I even concede that Aircel has done a good job of creating a buzz . Awareness was always there ; buzz wasn't. Given that they have the buzz they are letting it slip 2500->250-25 ..

Yes everyone has to care and this does not look like it;s being done by someone who cares. Aircel looks like it was caught napping and does not have anything to do after this ad campaign. Letting this be another stupid ad campaign is what grates me not the need for an awareness campaign or the need to act now ..

Most conservation in the US, be it about Whales,dolphins or round the corner ASPCA where I volunteer, when was the last time you saw an ad campaign go out and it did not have an 800 number or a website that detailed the cause ? It is NOT about creating the buzz (not awareness, hopefully quite a few people Project Tiger was a failure..), it is about the commitment that is needed to back that buzz and not let it fizzle out..
Avada Kedavra

Okay I agree with you about that. They should have probably done a better job.
But there is nothing wrong if I or someone else wants to join their facebook page right. It is just a way of showing that I support the cause, not because we want to showcase or get appreciation from others. I have the sticker on my blog which I flicked from that website. I did that because I wanted to promote through my website. Not because I wanted to show off. That statement actually made me comment. I agree with everything but if somebody wants to join the campaign, there is nothing wrong. My friend asked me what is "Stripey the cub" when I sent it to all my friends. I explained him and even he was not aware of tigers getting extinct. So that was my whole idea. Let other know. Not that I wanted to show that I am a great person.
Sorry for the lengthy comment.
Madhu | INDImag.com

Avada, you are taking this way too personally :-) . This is not just about one individual. What do you think is the 2nd (assuming saving the Tiger is 1st ; hopefully) most criteria across all the people on Stripey's blog/FB ? Goodwill/publicity ? Your thoughts may have been noble ; I honestly do believe you. But is that nobility a leitmotif in the FB club ? No.

Like Narendra says, many just did that as it does not take much than a few clicks. They are not really supporting much if they did it with that thought ?

I hate to say this, but if people did not know Tigers were inching towards extinction and it needed 'Save Our Tigers', it is pathetic..

Here's what I posted on your blog :
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I am one of those "people" and I'm proud of it.

Why is it so difficult to accept an opposing argument ? Given, no one is opposing saving the Tigers, why do you argue that people who do see issues with this initiative are wrong ? I happen to do philanthropy(financial-volunteering) because I believe in it's mission and not because it does not cost me much or because it just a takes a few clicks..

- No qualms in accepting that raising awareness/buzz was needed. But, now what ? They are letting it slip by. 3 blogs posts on their blog have 2500->250->25 comments. See the rapidly waning interest ? It is happening for a reason ? There's little concrete or new on their website. For crying out load you have more words on your site about Stripey than they in all 3 of their articles ..

- Why people like me do not start an NGO ?
Valmik Thapar is arguably the single most influential Tiger's friend in our land. He is sought after by of NY Times, WSJ and the Parlimentarians and he in the video that I put up flatly states that the Indian Government controls every aspect of Tiger conservation and we can do little . He can do little, and you suggest I start an NGO ? Start an NGO and succeed where every conceivable authority -- WWF included, have failed ?

'Save Our Tigers' has created a buzz. It seems to have loop holes. I would love for that to succeed and if our efforts are geared towards ensuring Aircel & Co do not renege, we will have done something worthwhile.

Some of the best preservation of the Indian Tigers is happening in the land you and I call home - USA. It is being spearheaded by people who have put their all and are struggling to keep it afloat. Tippi Hedren ring a bell ? She is Melanie Griffith's mother and runs Shambala Preserve in the Mohave forests of CA.

http://www.shambala.org

Do look at their site. It is threadbare, no fancy roars, no Aircels. They do request for donations -- 'feel free to bring any of the following items : Paper Clips, Tapes, Pens, Post It Notes..' they ask.

Look into their Education tab. They list facts about the cats they have. Click thru for more info and you will see the cats themselves -- name, background et al. When in there, do say "Roar" to my buddy Chuckie (we 3 friends send in 25 a piece monthly towards his sponsorship)

http://www.shambala.org/pages_adoption/tiger_ch...

Start an NGO ? Would love to, but since I cannot, I donate to Shambala ; have made 2 trips when in CA, it is humbling. I also volunteer at ASPCA for at least 1/2 day a month. Maybe that's my issue. It's not just a few carefree clicks of the mouse. It is a lot deeper for me and hence not easy. When it is a lot deeper you do not want to let someone make a mockery of what you believe in or worse use it as a promotional mechanism..

Again, I would love for 'Save Our Tigers' to work. But there are troubling signs and if the support is restricted to just displaying an image, given we went down from 4000 - > 1000 in the last decade, we may as well make arrangements to add some embellishments to the tiger image we want to display -- Kunkum and a string of flowers ..
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Avada Kedavra

And websites are so popular. Do you think people in govt dont see websites? or the number of people promoting this issue? or asking for action to be taken? Almost everyone is on twitter.
Madhu | INDImag.com

4 decades and we are worse than we were in 1970s and you think seeing this on a website will make our Government wake up ? They did a good job creating the buzz, but they should have had some tangible next steps planned and not caught napping. Look at the comments on their blog posts (The posts are pretty pathetic as well, I can type in longer posts from my mobile phone) - 2500 -> 250 -> 25 ...
shilpagarg

Oh! That's an eye opener!! And sure is a publicity stunt! And imagine the ad spent on this!! I had checked this site when I did a 55 Fiction on 'Save Our Tigers', but didn't get anything substantial so moved on to the WWF site.
Madhu | INDImag.com

Thanks Shilpa :-) . I do want to re-iterate that it has been successful in generating immense public interest (many maybe just blink participants -- like in FB. One person even has argued how we need to ensure we have 1 tiger for every Indian :-) ) and that's a good thing. But they need to not loose momentum and come up with something substantial than just a roar on their site..