1411 : Its not just a number, its LIFE

Nature is divine. God bless nature. I always feel that there should be a fine balance between nature and human beings. Well, good to see IPL 2010 supporting the go green initiative :) and Dhoni batting for tigers. Now, the figure 1411, its only 3 more than the Cusac's thriller(:P) but its a number to be afraid and ashamed of. Its a shame to admit that only 1411 tigers are left in India and afraid cos theres a chance that our biodiversity is ruined. Its sad ..... to see our national animal in dire straits. I wonder why didnt Dhoni like 'celebs' wearing '1411' shirts made public appearances much before, if that worked to create awareness(of course with figures much greater than 1411), I mean , why so late......why did we start realizing this fact at this figure. Now suddenly we start voicing our concerns and tigers get attention so very late. Poor tigers, if only they could speak.

We all are in some way responsible for this sad situation. Blame everyone ..... but theres no point doing so. Finally you have to blame yourself. And please dont think what led to this situation cos we all know the reasons and have been ignorant all this time. Or maybe just too busy and selfish to be concerned about ourselves or just not knowing where and how to start, knowing the fact that we are literally utilizing animals in general to fulfill our amusement and trying to understand them from our perspective. We have to understand a fact and its not that we dont know it. Tigers and for that matter any animal is as important to us as any other living thing on the planet in terms of maintaining the biodiversity and balance in the environment. In other words, our life depends on them.

All said and done, I remember answering a question in the HS200 endsem(a course which actually didnt suck :P) on ways to conserve the tiger. I thought about all possible tiger conservation techniques like ban on poaching and related sale of animal derived products, more open spaces and natural habitat enclosures to preserve tigers privacy and encourage their breeding, maintenance of tigers in zoos with nutricious timely food, hygiene , health care by professional trained veterinary docs etc , international cross breeding programmes to increase tiger population etc etc. ...........This was just an answer to a question written on paper. I began to think how many tigers will be saved by me writing this on paper, actually, I dont know and I might never know the answer to this. But I know one thing for sure. There are some proven ways and techniques including some which I listed above, which, when applied in practice, can yield positive results.

Now, its the responsibilty of the concerned ppl/authorities to make sure the timely concerned steps are taken. All we can do is to encourage activity towards tiger conservation by creating awareness through various forms which are within our scope and reach.

2 days back, there was an interesting initiative taken by the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivali. They are planning to auction tigers and lions to individuals interested in taking care of them. Their plan is to auction the tigers to interested individuals who will be funding for the needs of the tiger which will be situated in the park itself with the individual given permission to visit the park once a week. Of course there might be a credibility issue but this move is much better than the park officials taking care of the animal since individuals with interest will be taking care of the animal(and interested ppl will surely do their job well).

Another initiative taken up by Aircel is SaveOurTigers(Dhoni wearing '1411' shirt :P). Check out the site http://www.saveourtigers.com/ ....... it gives all relevant information on tiger reserves and ways to contribute and make a difference. You can also read about Stripy, a 2 year old tiger cub, now, an orphan :( :( ....... u can even donate etc etc. ........ It all depends on interest.

So, act now, in whichever way you can, before we regret. Its just a matter of taking the right steps in the right direction within our reach. I love tigers and I am sure even you do ....... so dont let the future generations miss out on the magnificent creature that nature created.

Remember this. Dont ever try overcome nature cos nature will always fight back no matter what.