Bengal Tigers in Bangladesh

[Dave Leroy]

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/05/201053071518901235.html

I am not sure how to attach a link, but if you can follow the above one to Aljazeera there is a pretty interesting video on the problems people and tigers are having.

It has some graphic scenes so it might not be for everybody.

Dave

[Harshad Barve]

TFS Video Dave , I have no words to express my grief

[Dave Leroy]

Yes, Harshad I knew it would be of interest and of concern to you.

It is a very, very tough situation for all involved.

[Harshad Barve]

No amount of conservation talk can work if the population in Asia keeps growing at this alarming rate… whether there is prosperity or poverty, there is no stopping this growth of population here in our country and our neighboring countries, so animals don’t stand a chance any more…. Its so SAD but that’s the TRUTH, Atleast India can pump money in conservation but rest of our neighbours can't. Ultimate fact is growing prosperity is shriking jungles :(,

It will be worst day in my life if we loose tigers from wild and that day I will stop photography ,:(

I am feeling very sick now after seeing that video, I just cannot see tiger death :(

[Rahul Sachdev]

I completely agree with you Harshad. It is a sad reality.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

It is a sad story that is happening again and again. You are noticing this because the victim is a tiger. There are countless species facing extermination.

Most often, the number of tiger attacks are exaggerated. However, it is true that there are tiger attacks. And the reason is not known. It is a joke that tiger mistakes a human for prey. That is a matter for a different discussion.

People enter into the forests in search of prawns, fish etc. Most of these are illegal settlers. This brings them in direct conflict with the tigers. Already, the overall habitat is shrinking due to inundation by the rising sea. To add to that, is the increasing human habitations and the disturbance by people entering into the remaining forests. There is bound to be conflict.

We are a species, who have failed to control our population. Unlike the animal world, who don't have a self regulatory mechanism to control our population. I don't have the data about Bangladesh, but in India, every 29 seconds there is a net addition to our population. :(

The tiger as the apex predator gives us an idea of the health of the ecosystem. These mangrove forests that you saw in the video, are likely to be extinct (as per IUCN). So we lose the natural barriers to cyclones. We lose other species dependent on mangroves.

Pumping money for conservation is not the solution. The model of development that we are pursuing is the problem. BIG need not be better all the time. We are creating more dependencies among the self sufficient communities. The economic models that we were taught and is practiced today, doesn't value our natural heritage. When our level of understanding is superficial, there won't be much of hope of saving the tiger, or ourselves.

One should raise his/her voice. Unfortunately, the photographer community (in India atleast) show a remarkable sense of detachment from espousing conservation issues. I hope this video helps in bringing together the global community in raising its voice.

Sabyasachi

[philperry]

Thanks for the posts guys. Though I confess I am not able to watch the video. A part of me would die if I saw it.

I agree Harshad, unless Asia's population growth is stopped then there will just be no space left for wildlife (Also Africa, S.America ...). Europe long ago destroyed most of its wildlife. The Iberian lynx is now down to around 200 individuals - that have to negotiate fences, cross roads and face an enormous number of other hazards just to cling on. So much of their habitat has been taken up for roads, agriculture, housing and other 21stC demands.

I also think that the more people that visit wildlife parks the better. By placing a monetary value on wildlife and parks then there is an incentive for people to protect them.

[Ken Watkins]

I am feeling very sick now after seeing that video, I just cannot see tiger death :(



Harshad,

Thanks for the warning, I am not squeamish and have seen some pretty horrific animal deaths, but I would never consider watching this.

Sabyasachi,

You have hit the nail on the head here, the major factors are overpopulation in the third world and the excessive comsumption of the first world.

[Dr.Pranay Rao Juvvadi]

I'm really sick to my stomach after seeing the video, but such scenes are unfortunately becoming a recurring feature, for e.g. the number of leopards lynched to death across India in the last couple of years is staggering! Why are these conflict situations becoming more frequent? The answer is simple, wild places are shrinking and the human population is growing! We are pushing them more and more into a corner and where do you expect an apex predator like a tiger or a leopard to go. Unless something is done about this maddening growth in human population there is not much of a future for wildlife in the Indian sub-continent.

Conservation of wild habitats and their inhabitants is 99% people management, which is the most difficult aspect to deal with.

As long as politicians in India play vote-bank politics, which schemes/Acts (Forest Rights Act for e.g.) to appease the masses, such scenes are sadly but surely going to be repeated.

The average Indian is more worried about GDP...... economy is more important than the ecosystem...... very frustrating and a very sad state of affairs.