Efforts to Save the Tiger Find Support Online, But Nothing’s Happening at Ground Level

Acampaign to save the tiger has caught the imagination of people on networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter. Several lakh people are following the issue. However, conservationists want them to act rather than simply make noises online.

M C Vinay Kumar, state director, Worldwide Fund for Nature, says, “Hats off to this [social networking] generation for being concerned. But, I will give only 30 per cent marks for tweeting or joining an online group. For full marks, you have to go beyond posting messages and deal with the problem at the ground level.”

The chatter on the social networking sites has its own benefits. “More people are becoming aware that previous generations were unsympathetic to conservation issues. Hence, the campaign to save the tiger is gaining momentum,” he says.

THE NETWORKERS’ PROBLEM

Sharad supports the campaign online, but does not know what else he can do. “There is no information, no website where I can know more. What can I do to help the tiger?” One ‘tweet’ says, “How can general public help save Tigers? Give suggestions

Vinay Kumar says, “They can involve themselves in any reliable organisation working for conservation in whatever capacity they can. Doctors, politicians, religious leaders, teachers, housewives, businessmen...whatever you are, you can play important roles in conservation.”

THIS IS WHAT YOU CAN DO

• Graphic designers can make posters and pamphlets to educate other people and field operatives

• Website developers
Can make websites for organisations involved in conservation

• Mechanical and electrical engineers can help the Forest Department make better use of solar energy at the ground level. For example:To re-charge wireless sets

• Doctors can treat people living in and around protected areas so that they can protect the forests better

• Agricultural scientists
can teach better farming techniques to people dwelling near forests so that crops can be less palatable to crop-raiding wildlife.This will reduce human-wildlife conflicts

• Public Relations for the tiger: people with contacts in governments and legislatures can share their contacts with conservationists.
Suggestions from Sanjay Gubbi, assistant director (conservation science and policy), Wildlife Conservation Society-India Programme. He says, “People must first educate themselves about the priorities and important threats to tiger conservation. Once priorities are clear, the rest will follow."

The Tigers Who Swim With Humans

Interaction - Tigers are known as the best swimmers of all the big cats with modified webbing between their toes to make their feet more like flippers

Hand-reared tigers at animal park in US get their exercise in a special pool with humans

MIAMI (USA): An animal park has found a unique way to develop bonds between humans and tigers. Traditionally, trainers have struggled to build an attachment with tigers because of the sheer bulk of the animals. But the Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species, or TIGER, claims to have overcome the problem by encouraging both tigers and humans to swim together in a specially adapted pool.

Although a number of wildlife parks have encouraged the animals to swim for exercise, the routine has usually consisted of little more than trainers throwing lumps of meat into the water for the tigers to collect.

'Not dangerous'

Bhagavan Antle, director of the centre, said he wanted to give the 90 kg, two metre long creatures an opportunity to exercise properly without giving them meat. Antle has about 200 animals at the TIGER park. The hand-reared tigers are introduced to the water a few months after birth and the trainers then give one-on-one tuition to each of the animals. But despite the apparent danger, he said his trainers are never at risk. "We found that in the water people and tigers were on a more equal footing when the tiger was swimming around on top of the person. As they were floating, we could manipulate them more easily because they couldn't stand up on their back legs."

Cat Man: The Man Who Underwent Surgery to Look Like a Tiger

Dennis Avner works as a computer programmer

London: He has surgically pointed ears, sharpened teeth, implanted whiskers and tiger tattoos covering his entire body and face. Cat Man, whose real name is Dennis Avner (50), is an American computer programmer by day, and a feline by night. Dennis has devoted much of his life to transforming himself into a tiger and now likes to be known simply as Cat. Claiming he has the soul of a tiger, he even eats raw meat and climbs trees to feel more at one with his animal friends. Cat was in London to publicise the new Ripley's Believe It Or Not! museum. Cat has spent a fortune on changing his face and body into that of a cat, but doesn't regret it.

20 surgeries

He said, "My work began in 1985, when I had tattoo work on my face. Since then I have spent an uncalculated amount on my transformation to tiger, including around 20 operations on my face to recreate my upper lip, implant silicone in my cheeks and implants to enlarge my brow and forehead. "I also have several piercings that I can attach whiskers."

Double life

Cat lives a double life, being a human at work and a cat on weekends. He said, "During the day, I'm like any other man who works in an office. The only difference is I look like a cat. "My free time is when I behave like a tiger. I love climbing trees, but as I get older I'm finding that that's not an easy job." Having so far failed to find his perfect mate, Cat is still on the prowl for a woman to share his life with. He says, "I'm seeing a couple of women now. They understand that being a tiger is important to me, which is difficult for many women to cope with."

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