‘Gruff Genius': Tiger Conservationist Valmik Thapar Dies At 73
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'Gruff Genius': Tiger Conservationist Valmik Thapar Dies At 73
Aathira Perinchery
14 minutes ago
Thapar authored more than 30 books, including Tigers: The Secret Life (1989), The Last Tiger (2006) and Living With Tigers (2016).
Tiger conservationist Valmik Thapar. Photo: https://sanctuarynaturefoundation.org/
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Bengaluru: Valmik Thapar (73), one of India's fiercest tiger conservationists, and filmmaker and author of more than 30 books, died at New Delhi at his residence on the night of May 30, following an illness. He is survived by his wife and son.
Senior Congress leader and former union environment Minister Jairam Ramesh who also was the chair of the parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, called it a 'great loss'.
'During my tenure as Chairman of the Standing Committee also he was a constant source of many valuable suggestions and advice. We had arguments but it was always an education to listen to him, full of passion and concern. He was truly an unforgettable one of a kind,' Ramesh added.
Stepping into tiger conservation
In the mid-1970s, Thapar's fascination for the tiger grew under the tutelage of Fateh Singh Rathore, former park director of Ranthambore Tiger Reserve and National Park. Thapar spent a lot of his time at the Park, tracking, observing and studying the tigers he so loved. He also worked closely with Tiger Watch, a non-profit organisation that Rathore set up for tiger conservation in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan.
In 1987, Thapar founded the Ranthambore Foundation, to work closely with local communities around the Park. The Foundation launched several welfare programmes such as installing biogas plants in villages so that people would not have to go into forests for firewood, which could bring them into close proximity with tigers.
Thapar authored more than 30 books, including Tigers: The Secret Life (1989), The Last Tiger (2006) and Living With Tigers (2016).
Thapar was also a prolific filmmaker and wildlife presenter, and is perhaps most well-known for narrating the BBC series Land of The Tiger in 1997, in his trademark booming baritone.
Thapar spent nearly five decades advocating for the tiger, and was part of more than 150 state and union government committees. Among them is the Tiger Task Force – constituted by the UPA government that was then in power, following the emptying of Sariska Tiger Reserve of all its tigers – of which he was appointed a member in 2005.
'His gruff genius is what it took for India and the world to acknowledge the tiger's magnificence'
Thapar was a staunch critic of the way Project Tiger was run, and the bureaucratic hurdles that came in the way of tiger conservation. He didn't mince words, and often wrote to officials – including chief ministers and prime ministers – pointing out concerns and recommending solutions.
He was also an advocate of protectionism, and believed that protected areas had to be inviolate of people; that people had to be removed from these areas to really foster tiger conservation.
And yet, Thapar was clear that tigers that were dangerous had to be eliminated or taken away from parks. For instance, he was extremely vocal about how dangerous T-24 – a male tiger in Ranthambore that had killed people including forest guards and partially eaten its kills – was.
In 2017, the Sanctuary Nature Foundation conferred on him their Lifetime Service Award – one among many he has received over the years.
'Author of 32 books, including four on Africa, presenter of 16 international documentary films, and an excellent orator, Valmik Thapar's gruff genius is what it took for India and the world to sit up and acknowledge the tiger's magnificence, its predicament, and the urgency for conservation. And for this, we honour him,' Sanctuary's note reads.
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The Hindu
9 hours ago
- The Hindu
The tale of the tigers
Where it all began… Did you know that a rough conservative estimate of India's tiger population at the start of the 20the Century was around 40,000? The top end of the estimates even placed the number of tigers in the Indian subcontinent in 1900 at around 1,00,000! That number, however, nosedived to a mere 1,827 in 1972, the estimated population figure the result of a nation-wide tiger census conducted that year. This meant that in just 70 years, only about one in every 25 tigers (or 4 out of every 100) remained, even if we were to start with the conservative estimate. The dismally low number was an urgent call for action. The Government of India set up the Project Tiger in 1973 with the primary objective of protecting the Bengal Tiger, and its natural habitats, while ensuring a viable tiger population for ecological balance. Secondary objectives included controlling poaching and illegal trades, raising awareness about tiger conservation among the public, and developing and incorporating better methods to monitor tiger populations. How was it implemented? A multi-pronged approach has been employed to implement Project Tiger through the last half a century or so. Central to it has been the establishment of tiger reserves, which are managed with a core-buffer strategy. While the core areas enjoy legal protection as national parks or sanctuaries, buffer zones around the core areas allow for sustainable human activities, balancing conservation efforts with local needs. The tiger reserves are designed such that they serve as secure habitats for the tigers, and minimise human-wildlife conflict. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was established under the Wild Life (Protection) Act of 1972 and serves as the wildlife conservation agency that provides regulatory oversight and also manages the funding of Project Tiger. Even though the project is an initiative by the Indian government, a number of collaborators from other countries and organisations have also lent their support to aid the efforts of tiger conservation. Data that highlights the project's success 50+ When the project was started, there were nine tiger reserves, including the iconic Jim Corbett National Park – India's first national park, established in 1936. In a little over 50 years, the number of tiger reserves have ballooned to more than 50, meaning that the country has been adding almost one tiger reserve every year. As big as Jharkhand When Project Tiger was launched in 1973, an area of 9,115 sq. km was encompassed by the nine reserves. As of 2025, the area under the 50+ reserves across 18 states in the country has gone past the 75,000 sq. km mark. If all those areas were to be placed together to form a single parcel of land, it would be comparable with the state of Jharkhand, which has an area of 79,714 sq. km. Over 2% of the country India has an overall area of 3.287 million sq. km. If the area demarcated as tiger reserves were compared with the total area of the country, it is a little over one-fiftieth of the total area. This means that over 2% (2.2%, if you wish to be more precise) of India's landmass is now devoted to this project. More than 3,000 tigers The most recent estimate of tiger population in the country ranges from a minimum of 3,167 to a maximum of 3,925, with an average of 3,682 – generally given out as the number of tigers in India. While a jump from 1,827 in 1973 to 3,682 in 2022 represents a commendable annual growth rate of 6.1%, the growth in reality was far from linear. This means that the rate of growth didn't steadily keep on increasing, and there were, in fact, even some dips before the numbers bounced back. The estimate in 2006, for instance, was 1,411 – even lower than the 1972 mark! This decrease from previous estimates actually led to a major overhaul in the way in which things were done, and they have borne fruit as the tiger numbers have more than doubled in the last two decades. Roughly 75% India's tiger population has, in fact, doubled in a decade according to a study whose results were published earlier this year. As a result, India is now home to roughly 75% of the global tiger population. Yes, you read that right. Three out of every four tigers in the world are now in India! A tigress's tale Programmes like Project Tiger do better off with a face. Machhli was the poster child of this conservation effort as she saw the numbers of her species both decline and grow during her lifetime. Meet Machhli Name: Machhli, also spelt Machli or Machali Tiger code: T-16 Gender: Female Species: Bengal tiger First seen: 1997 Died: August 18, 2016 Habitat: Ranthambore National Park Nicknames: Queen Mother of Tigers, Tigress Queen of Ranthambore, The Lady of the Lakes, Crocodile Killer Claims to fame: India's most famous tigress; labelled most photographed tigress in the world. Machhli inherited her name – Hindi word for 'fish' – from her mother and also because of the fish-shaped mark on her left ear. A dominant cub, she started hunting at the age of two and her ferocity was well documented throughout her lifetime. The most famous incident showcasing this is her fight with a 14-foot mugger crocodile, which she killed while losing a couple of canine teeth. She gave birth to five litters and raised 11 cubs, contributing significantly to the park's tiger count. Some of her cubs were even relocated as a couple of female cubs were transferred to Sariska Tiger Reserve to boost the big cats population there as well. She soon became a favourite subject for wildlife photographers and filmmakers, and her photogenic nature even earned her the title of being the most photographed tigress in the world. This had a strong impact on both tourism and conservation, as it brought more footfalls to Ranthambore and more eyeballs to the conservations efforts. As is to be expected, Machhli did split opinion as well. By the time she died in 2016 as a 19-year-old, she had far outlived most 'wild' tigers, who generally live to the age of 10-15. Her fame and the money that she brought in meant that she was tended for as she aged, raising questions of whether she was still 'wild' at all. If that weren't enough, some commentators even stated that the establishment was going out of the way to keep its star alive, even though she was no longer performing any ecological function. This drain in resources, they believed, could have been better employed in actual conservation efforts. Machhli was, doubtless, an icon. And when it comes to capturing the public's imagination and grabbing their attention, an icon always works. The Tiger Man of India If Machhli is seen as the face of Project Tiger, then Kailash Sankhala is the brains behind it. Nicknamed the 'Tiger Man of India,' Sankhala is an Indian biologist and conservationist who served as the first director of the project. Here's more about the man who lived for a cause that he cared about… An early start Born in Jodhpur in 1925, Kailash Sankhala obtained his master's degree in Botany from Jaswant College, Jodhpur in 1950. 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His methods and innovative approach to zoo management earned him recognition as he completely changed how zoos in the country function. The practice of having animals perform for onlookers was stopped, and animals were provided enclosures that were akin to their natural habitats. By 1970, Sankhala had extensively studied tigers. His research on tiger population, their behaviour and population dynamics, paved the way for Project Tiger. He was also the first civil servant to receive the Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship in 1969-70 to study tigers. The first director Sankhala realised that the onus was on him to employ his knowledge to educate the public and persuade the government for conservation efforts. His efforts brought the attention of both national and international media to the issue of tiger conservation. Indira Gandhi, who was India's Prime Minister at the time, took notice of Sankhala's work. 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Through this NGO, he tried to further the involvement of the community in the conservation efforts, while also bringing about initiatives and measures to preserve habitats and prevent poaching. He authored several influential books on wildlife and conservation, including 'Tiger! The Story of the Indian Tiger.' He received the Padma Shri award in 1992, a couple of years before his death in 1994, aged 69.
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The Wire
4 days ago
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Animals Go ‘Missing' in West Bengal Zoos, Official Numbers Don't Tally
Bengaluru: Captive wild animals in two zoos in West Bengal have gone 'missing', as per official records maintained by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), India's apex zoo body that comes under the Union environment ministry. News articles reported last week that 321 animals disappeared from the Alipore Zoo in Kolkata overnight. The chief secretary of West Bengal, who is the chairman of the West Bengal Zoo Authority, told The Wire on July 24 that an investigation is currently underway. Though not at the scale of the Alipore Zoo, this investigation by The Wire shows that the Harinalaya Eco Park in Kolkata also 'lost' four animals during the same time period. Many animal transfers are also being conducted between zoos. The CZA's annual inventory report for 2023-24 shows that during that year, the Alipore zoo transferred 54 animals to other zoos. However, the numbers presented in the corresponding annual report for the year for Alipore Zoo do not match this number; they are far higher. In 2023-24, the zoo sent 51 animals from nine species to Greens Zoological, Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (or Vantara) alone. Seven of these are listed under Schedule I of the Wild Life Protection Act (1972). The zoo also sent 33 animals to two other zoos in West Bengal: 84 transfers in total. Ecologists have raised concerns about these discrepancies in data between official records as well as the regular transfer of captive wildlife between many zoos. Zoos need to make verified data on its captive animal inventories and transfers available in the public domain, they told The Wire. And most importantly, while zoos play a role in educating the public and raising awareness, protecting endangered species in their habitats is far more critical as is preventing them from being caught from the wild for public display in zoos, they pointed out. 'Missing' animals Zoological parks or zoos are centres that house captive animals that are put on display to the public. As per Section 2 (39) of India's Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972, a zoo refers to 'an establishment, whether stationary or mobile, where captive animals are kept for exhibition to the public'. These include circuses and rescue centres, but not licensed dealers who keep captive animals. Over time, zoos have played an important role in conservation. They increase public awareness about wildlife, pique curiosity about a range of aspects including animal behaviour, and highlight why wild animals and their habitats need to be protected in the first place. Zoos are also seen as an important 'ex-situ' conservation measure: many function as breeding centres for rare and threatened species. There are 13 zoos in West Bengal. These include the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in Darjeeling, the Bardhaman Zoological Park (Ramnabagan) Mini Zoo, the Gar Chumuk (Ulughata) Deer Park in Howrah, the Harinalaya at Eco Park in Kolkata, the Rasikbeel Mini Zoo in Cooch Behar, the Surulia Mini Zoo in Purulia and the Alipore Zoological Garden in Kolkata. All come under the aegis of the West Bengal Zoo Authority, which comes under the Central Zoo Authority a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change). The CZA lays down guidelines, rules and regulations that zoos have to follow. One mandate is that zoos have to submit annual information and data pertaining to the zoo such as annual reports and inventories, which it releases on its website. As per the Annual Inventory of Animals in Indian Zoos 2024-25 released by the CZA, the Alipore zoo reported that it housed a total of 351 animals at the start of the year (i.e., April 1, 2024). This 'opening stock' should match the number of 'closing stock' from the year before (i.e., as on March 31, 2024) But in the case of Alipore zoo that year, it didn't. As per the annual inventory report for 2023-24, the closing stock (as on March 31, 2024) was 672. Essentially, 321 animals disappeared from the logs overnight, NewsClick reported. 'This cannot be put down even to a clerical error,' a researcher who studies illegal wildlife trade but did not want to be named told The Wire. 'Where have these animals gone?' The researcher raised concerns of such evidently wrong numbers worrying conservationists about animals – including species not found in India – being smuggled into zoos, being accounted for as 'rescues', and then being transferred to private zoos and animal collections. The chief secretary of West Bengal told The Wire on July 24 that an investigation is currently underway on Alipore Zoo losing 321 captive animals overnight. 'I have asked the head of forest force to submit a report on this matter,' chief secretary Manoj Panth said. On analysing inventory reports across previous years for other zoos in the state, The Wire found that the numbers at the Harinalaya at Eco Park also show a mismatch, though not as stark as at the Alipore Zoo. Here, the closing stock was 235 for the year 2023-24, while the opening stock in 2024-25, a day later, was 231 – a loss of 4 animals. The Bardhaman Zoological Park also 'lost' two animals overnight between March 31, 2023 and April 1, 2023. Meanwhile, there is vagueness in the criteria that define the inclusion of zoos in the annual inventory reports too. For instance, there is no mention of the North Bengal Wild Animals Park in the inventory report for 2024-25; no mention of the Rasikbeel Mini Zoo in the year 2023-24; and no details of the animal inventory data for Alipore Zoo for the year 2022-23. Acquisitions, 'holding centres' and modus operandi Another interesting aspect of the annual inventory reports is the number of acquisitions and disposals. As per the 2024-25 annual inventory report, apart from the 351 animals Alipore zoo housed on April 1, 2024, the zoo witnessed 113 births and made a staggering 695 'acquisitions' (which refers to the animals that the zoo acquired) that year. That is the highest number of acquisitions made by zoos in India mentioned in the annual report that year — except for the People For Animals Rescue Center in Bengaluru, Karnataka, which acquired 4,654 animals during the year. However the latter is a rescue centre and its primary objective is to take in and rescue animals, unlike the Alipore zoo. The 695 animals that the Alipore Zoo acquired included exotic species, many that the zoo did not house before: such as a single bald eagle (a large bird of prey found only in North America), a red kangaroo, an alpaca, ten yellow-naped Amazon parrots, 13 red lories and more. Many of these acquisitions of exotic species come from confiscations or seizures made by authorities. In March 2024, the Alipore zoo received a Malayan tapir from the North Bengal Wild Animals Park that was 'seized for safe custody'. The annual report for 2023-24 for the Alipore zoo specifies that the zoo received one golden parakeet, two Moluccan cockatoos, one military macaw and one blue-and-gold-macaw in September 2023 from the Wildlife Wing of the Directorate of Forests, Government of West Bengal, from a seizure and for 'safe custody'. These were later returned to the Directorate as part of a court order, the annual report also added. None of these species are found in India. In 2024-25, as per the CZA's annual inventory report of animals in zoos, the Gar Chumuk (Ulughata) Deer Park – which is classified as a mini zoo – received two species of macaws that are native to South America: four individuals of the green-winged macaw, and 11 individuals of the red-bellied macaw. The same year, all 15 of these birds were 'disposed', or transferred. The inventory report does not mention which facility or private collection these birds were transferred to, or why they were transferred out. Such patterns of zoos acting as 'holding centers' where confiscated animals arrive and are then transferred to another facility is very common now, the researcher, who studies illegal wildlife trade but did not want to be named, told The Wire. Sometimes, the animals are transferred to private zoos and animal collections. 'This is not illegal, as per law,' the researcher said. 'Any seizures of live wild animals made on land cannot be sent back to the port of origin so they go to zoos. Is this the modus operandi to legalize illegal wildlife trade? We do not know,' the researcher commented. An important question that needs to be asked in this regard is about the origins of such seizures, the researcher commented. 'How did enforcement authorities become so efficient? How did they know about these animals to confiscate and capture them alive,' the researcher asked. Buying captive-bred exotic wildlife like blue-and-gold macaws – a large parrot that is native to the Amazon in South America – is legal but there are numerous ethical issues even then, the researcher pointed out. One is that many animals, though labelled captive-bred, are in fact captured from the wild and plucked out of their homes to meet the huge demands fuelled by the pet trade. 'People buying them are completely oblivious to the trail of dead animals each imported dead animal leaves in its wake,' the researcher said. Transfers to Vantara and others In an earlier instance, in April 2023, the Alipore zoo transferred 51 animals to Greens Zoological, Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre or Vantara in Jamnagar, Gujarat, per its annual report for 2023-24 published on the website of the CZA. Vantara has previously come under the scanner with some news reports alleging that the demand created by the rescue centre for captive wild animals is resulting in individuals being illegally captured from the wild. Vantara, however, had told The Wire that these allegations are 'entirely baseless' and 'misleading'. The animals transferred from Alipore zoo to Vantara in April 2023 included one jungle cat, four fishing cats, two marsh crocodiles, one brow-antlered deer, two Indian muntjac (or barking deer), three water monitor lizards, nine Indian rock pythons, nine painted storks and 20 Indian star tortoises. Of these, all species except the Indian muntjac and painted stork come under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 – that is, they are afforded the highest protection under Indian law, on par with the tiger. What is the logic behind transferring species like the fishing cat to a private entity like Vantara instead of back to the wild, asked Tiasa Adhya, an ecologist who studies the rare and elusive wild cat in West Bengal and other states. 'If other zoos have a genetic line [of fishing cats] which promises more [genetic] diversity upon breeding of introduced individuals, or if the genetics of fishing cats have been studied in the wild and genetically poor populations have been identified, then such transfers [to private entities like Vantara] make sense from a managerial perspective which aims to bridge ex-situ and in-situ conservation,' Adhya, co-founder of The Fishing Cat Project, said. But unless Vantara has such knowledge of fishing cat genetics already available, it would be 'wrong' from a species perspective to send fishing cats there because it is a new private entity, Adhya remarked. In 2023-24, the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park transferred several animals to Vantara: a snow leopard, a red panda, six golden pheasants, six silver pheasants and six Lady Amhersts's pheasants. Meanwhile, the data points to several other transfers between zoos. In 2023-24, as per its annual report, Alipore Zoo transferred 27 animals to the North Bengal Wild Animals Park (two Indian crested porcupines, eight blue-and-gold macaws, five barking deer, two Indian rock pythons, two Burmese pythons, two reticulated pythons and four water monitor lizards) in two separate installments (in December 2023 and March 2024). It also transferred six animals (two Indian crested porcupines and four blue-and-gold macaws) to Junglemahal Zoological Park in Jhargram, West Bengal. In 2023-24, the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park made 135 transfers, while the Gar Chumuk (Ulughata) Deer Park made 272 transfers. Name of Zoo Disposals (Transfers to other zoos) 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 Alipore Zoo - 54 23 Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park 51 135 65 Bardhaman Zoological Park 6 93 0 Gar Chumuk (Ulughata) Deer Park 15 272 37 Harinalaya At Eco Park 8 13 6 Rasikbeel Mini Zoo 20 - 0 Surulia Mini Zoo 0 0 0 North Bengal Wild Animals Park 1 35 - Table: 'Disposals' or transfers to other zoos for three years, from CZA's annual inventory reports. Blank spaces indicate years for which data is not available for that year. According to the researcher who studies illegal wildlife trade, a lot of transfers of wild animals are occurring between zoos. Why are these transfers being made, the researcher asked. 'Zoos need to provide data on the rationale behind such transfers and make them available in the public domain,' the researcher said. The state zoo authority does not have any say in such transfers as they are internal decisions taken between zoos, chief secretary Panth told The Wire. Numbers that don't tally Meanwhile, the inventory report for the Alipore zoo for the year 2023-24 – also published by the same statutory body, the CZA – says that the Alipore zoo 'disposed' of a total of 54 animals that year. However, transfers to Vantara, the North Bengal Wild Animals Park and Junglemahal Zoological Park alone amount to a total of 84 'disposals', per another CZA document – its annual report for the same year. The inventory report for the year also does not mention the 'disposal' of any marsh crocodiles, Indian rock pythons, Burmese pythons, reticulated pythons or water monitor lizards from the Alipore zoo at all – whereas its annual report for the year mentions the transfer of two marsh crocodiles, nine Indian rock pythons and three water monitor lizards to Vantara; two Indian rock pythons, two Burmese pythons, two reticulated pythons and four water monitor lizards to the North Bengal Wild Animals Park as mentioned above. Ironically, the inventory report claims that Alipore zoo only had eight Indian rock pythons at the opening of the year, and the same number at the close of the year, with no acquisitions or disposals in between. Similarly, the inventory report only specifies the 'disposal' of eight blue-and-gold macaws (while the annual report claims that a total of 12 such birds were transferred from Alipore zoo to the North Bengal Wild Animals Park and Junglemahal Zoological Park). In the case of the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park too, the inventory and zoo annual reports for the same year give completely different figures for the same categories. The inventory report lists 464 animals as the opening stock for the year 2023-24, whereas the annual report quotes 210; 40 acquisitions in the inventory versus 21 in the annual report; 135 disposals in the inventory versus 21 in the annual report; and a closing stock of 426 in the inventory versus 220 in the annual report for the year. Clearly, the numbers do not tally. This discrepancy in numbers also raises several questions, including the reliability of the CZA data. How many animals were really transferred to other zoological parks including Vantara and the North Bengal Wild Animals Park and other zoos? On what basis were these transfers made? If animals are going missing in hundreds from logs overnight, why should the call to transfer animals between zoos remain an internal decision and not one governed by the government? Data is key, ecologists say. Correct, verifiable data on animal transfers and why certain transfers were made should ideally be placed in the public domain, the wildlife trade researcher told The Wire. Zoos must also ensure that they conduct post-mortems for all animals that die on the premises and make available that data as well for the public, the researcher added. If animals breed successfully in zoos, and space and resources become a constraint, some can be reintroduced back into the wild – which is ultimately what captive breeding programmes aim to do. According to a study by Adhya and other scientists, captive-bred fishing cats can be re-introduced in the wild this way. The study, published in 2024, identified 21 possible reintroduction zones for captive-bred fishing cats in West Bengal, including spots in the Sundarbans, a mangrove ecosystem in the state. Thus, captive-bred fishing cats – once acclimatised in 'soft release centers' within designated habitats marked for their release – can be repatriated to the wild instead of being transferred to other zoos, Adhya remarked. But most importantly, priority should be given to protect the remaining wild habitats of species and authorities should only consider captive breeding programs as a supplementary tool, Adhya commented. In the case of fishing cats for instance, without adequate protection of wetlands which are the most critically threatened ecosystems on the planet, 'captive breeding programs are a farce on the face of the Earth,' she added. With inputs from Aparna Bhattacharya.
