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New Indian Express
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Valmik Thapar: Tiger Man who gave his everything to wildlife
Tigers burned bright for Valmik Thapar, who passed away after losing his fight against cancer at the age of 73 on Saturday. For many people of a certain vintage, Thapar arrived in their drawing rooms near the end of the 20th century with his infectious energy and a rich drawl promising a "journey you will never forget". Mellifluous Ta da ri na played as the title rolled up — Land of the Tiger. The six-part BBC series would go on to transmit his passion for these "superb animals" to the world. It was a passion that had been ignited in the 1970s at the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. Thapar had gone there, on a whim, at the age of "23-24". But when the "romantic" chanced upon tigers in that setting, the flames of love were lit. Fateh Singh Rathore, the legendary former field director of the reserve, played a big role in nursing the affair along in the early days. Such was the magic that young Thapar, who had no experience with tigers or wildlife, never really came back from the place he would call "home" later. In fact, on my frequent visits to the place, I used to encounter him — either alone or in the company of Fateh Singh Rathore. Thapar would go on to succeed magnificently where it mattered: he made tigers popular among the masses. Through numerous books and films on wildlife, he helped the big cat to regain its lost glory. In a way, through them, he mobilised public support for the tigers. Even the titles of Thapar's books reflect his undying love for tigers. The Secret Life of Tigers, The Tiger's Destiny, Living With Tigers, and many more. In all, he wrote over twenty-five books — Tiger Fire: 500 Years of the Tigers in India was another — and made many documentary films, all of which will remain as vivid testaments. Famous dissenter The 'Tiger Man' of India, as he was often hailed, never shied away from taking pointed, non-conformist stands on issues concerning India's wildlife management. It did not matter whether the final analysis proved him right or wrong, he would not budge from his stated position. Recently, Thapar was among the first to put his foot down on the Central Government's ambitious programme to bring African cheetahs to India. "The project is doomed to fail; take it from me, cheetahs will not survive on Indian soil," he stressed repeatedly. Till the end, he remained a man of strong beliefs and did not mind crossing swords with authorities and fellow wildlife experts. Another interesting case in point was the Tiger Task Force, set up by the UPA Government in 2005, in the aftermath of Sariska Tiger Reserve losing all of its tigers to poachers. It was the first national park in India to attain this dubious distinction. One of the briefs of the taskforce was to suggest effective wildlife management in India's reserves to prevent a Sariska-like fiasco. Chaired by well-known environmentalist Sunita Narain, the committee in its final report suggested forging a stronger rapport between humans and wildlife in the forest areas. Thapar famously struck a dissenting note, scoffing at the taskforce's suggestion and dismissing it as "too optimistic". He instead advocated making certain areas of the forest sacrosanct for tigers and other wildlife, with no human interference. Be that as it may, even the most strident critics of Valmik Thapar swore by his undying passion for the Tigers. In that respect, he reminds me of another Tiger Man, and one no less important: Billy Arjan Singh. Billy's legendary association with Uttar Pradesh's Dudhwa Tiger Reserve finds an echo in Thapar's fascination with Ranthambore. The two of them had several things in common. Neither had any field experience, nor scientific training of any kind. Both courted controversies gleefully, but their imagination was fired by their passion for forests and wildlife. Both gave their everything to wildlife. It will always remain their abiding legacy. (Ajay Suri is a writer, photographer, documentary film-maker. He is also a journalist who won the Ramnath Goenka award for excellence in environment reporting.)
Hindustan Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Ranthambore's tigers and their shrinking habitats
The tragic tiger-human conflict in Rajasthan's famous Ranthambore Tiger Reserve should wake up wild life experts in government for the damage they have done to the tiger reserves. In the early eighties, the famous Tiger Man, conservator Fateh Singh Rathore, fondly remembered as the only one to have given a ground strategy for tiger conservation in Ranthambore, is now lost to tiger experts in government. The tigers are in direct conflict with humans and Chief Wild Life Wardens (CWLWs) pacify them with live-baits rather than providing them a sustainable prey-base within their habitats. Segmental short-term and counter-productive solutions are often shot out as remedies to an ailing habitat. A copious loss of habitats and a decadal disappearance of forest cover is definitely the central cause of many frenzied man-animal conflicts. However, what escapes attention is the perfunctory attitude of CWLWs towards reintroduction of more predators from other habitats and different ecosystems without addressing the central cause of carrying capacity. An unresearched translocation and reintroduction disturbs prey base in forests besides many other forms of damages that it is likely to inflict both in a short-term and a long-term period. To manage predator populations. CWLWs bring live baits to forests and once this is not found enough, captive zoo animals which are no better than live baits are supplied under the cover of 'increasing prey base' in defiance of the guidelines given by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Central Zoo Authority (CZA). As predators get used to live baits, they give up hunting and fearlessly cross over to any human habitat in search of standing livestock. Only two days ago, a coalition of cheetahs had crossed the border of Kuna National Park and breached the human habitat of a village killing livestock. There are many questions looking for answers in this imbroglio. The available data speaks for itself and can explain the problem more accurately. As per the India's State of Forest Report (ISFR) of 2023, the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve where the tragic killing of the Forest Ranger has an increased tiger population of 80 but the tiger habitat has shrunk by 44.57 sq kms. Similarly, its adjoining Sariska has added 30 tigers from just two in the last 15 years but lost 15.95 sq kms of habitat. This imbalance within tiger reserves is faster in many other tiger reserves of India as well. Wildlife experts know it very well that an average tiger needs at least 60 to 100 sq kms to survive and similarly, a cheetah needs a minimum of 1500 sq kms for a sustainable prey base. Of the five largest tiger reserves in Rajasthan none exceeds an area of Ranthambore Reserve which is merely 1530 sq kms with roads and villages criss-crossing all over. This habitat area is in all fairness, suitable for not more than 15 tigers or even less as there are other competing predators on the same stock of prey. Many other tiger reserves are simply broken platforms or smaller segments of drying and wilting land masses of less than 500 sq kms and some even smaller like Darrah and Shargarh in Rajasthan. If this isn't enough, the foresters fail to account that prey base is a primary requirement before releasing new predators or conserving growth of pre-existing ones. The herbivore prey base is not a free gift in a forest. It is dependent upon grasslands which are almost non-existent in a true sense of grasses which prey can actually consume. Most grasslands are converted to non-forest use such as agriculture, cultivation and mining. A phenomenal loss of 56,500 sq kms of grasslands which one can find in an official statement of Indian government to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in 2019 during COP 14 is a fact. The Aravali forest range which hold most of the Rajasthan's tiger reserves has suffered highest degradation, thereby making it impossible for deer, the main prey base to sustain its population. In coming times, tigers are going to face much heat and most zoos which are keeping deer for city's ecological life may convert to prey-base farms. Shrinking habitats will bring tigers close to human populations. Due to lack of a committed policy to expand tiger habitats, CWLWs would continue to depend upon short-cut measures like offering them live-baits, which will further weaken their hunting skills. At the same time, reintroduction of new predators in their habitats will increase brutal competition for food and water. The government should undertake at least three urgent measures to address the situation. One, take non-government tiger experts on board on how to lure the tigers back into the core of forests and stop offering live-baits. Two, stop reintroduction of any more predators till forest areas are restored to match the prey need of tigers. Three, ban any more deer parks or zoos from coming up till a cradle to grave policy for zoo animals becoming part of the contract for seeking licence for a zoo and is acknowledged within the framework of the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972. Considering a rising fancy for wildlife and new business opportunities aligned to eco-tourism, wildlife may lose many more habitats to the construction of hotels, rail-tracks and roads. To stop man-animal conflicts, forests should be left to themselves, should not be fragmented and trespassed upon. This article is authored by Amita Singh, former professor of law and governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University and president, Asia Pacific Disaster Research Group.
