Just 1,411 tigers in India – and the National Tiger Conservation Authority says if error margins are taken into account, the tiger population may range between 1,165 and 1,657. And to think the government has been “serious” about conservation since Project Tiger was started in 1973 – for thirty five years now. But oh wait, the government has been serious about poverty removal and education for all for many more years than that. So…
Here is the sole tigress I spotted at Ranthambhore…
Have a look at Aditya Singh’s fabulous photographs of tigers at Ranthambhore park – Aditya along with wife Poonam run Ranthambhore Bagh – soon such photographs are all we may have left of these gorgeous animals.
I remember reading in Autobiography of a Yogi about “the tiger swami,” a man who wrestled with tigers before he became a swami. Do people wrestle with tigers in India anymore?
Actually, Doug, we don’t. We have tamed all the tigers and now we ride them to work.
Douglas, I don’t know about wrestling but people still do this – Villagers poison two tigers in Assam – I don’t know whether to be sad or sorry for these poor villagers… or the poor tigers
Lekh, mmmm, er.
There once was a lady from Niger
Who smiled as she rode on a tiger
They came back from the ride
With the lady inside
And the smile on the face of the tiger
Charu,
Yes, I remembered that limerick too, as I wrote my previous comment 🙂
I think you are being too considerate to Doug to answer him so politely. There is ignorance, then there is willful ignorance, and then there is the “you poor benighted 3rd worlders” attitude. Trust me, I have come across a lot of these.
Today’a New York Times has a particularly relevant article on this. I loved the readers’ comments on the article:
http://community.nytimes.com/article/comments/2008/02/14/books/14dumb.html
Lekhni, I think that is harsh – considering neither you nor I know Douglas personally or his intentions. so i cannot comment on “these types” – but I can’t deny that we have all kinds of swamis and weirdos here, so why pounce on Douglas. go easy!
Charu,
Maybe I am a tad too cynical. But if we assume Douglas was merely being curious and not insulting, did he return to your blog to check if you had answered his question? If he did, I will admit I was mistaken. If not, I rest my case.