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India Today
a day ago
- Entertainment
- India Today
Project Tiger review: A roaring tale of power, loss and redemption
'Project Tiger' is not just a documentary, it's a journey through time, myth, power, and redemption. Told with clear, emotional storytelling, it takes you deep into the world of one of nature's most dangerous predators, showing us how the tiger has been feared, worshipped, hunted, and finally, documentary begins by explaining why the tiger has always been seen as a powerful beast. With sharp visuals and a moving voice-over, it shows how the tiger was once a symbol of strength across India. In Hindu mythology, Goddess Durga is shown riding a tiger, to show that she is powerful enough to tame the wildest of creatures. It's a clever way to connect the animal with power, both divine and things took a dark turn when the British colonised India. With them came rifles and guns, something the locals had never seen before. Fear spread fast, but so did a new form of power. Hunting tigers became a sport for both the British and Indian kings, with men placing bets to see who could kill the most. What was once a symbol of strength was now a trophy. And then comes one of the most chilling lines in the documentary:'Now the hunter has become the hunted.' It also highlights a lesser-known but shocking moment, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's jungle safari in India, where they hunted a tiger. These scenes make it clear how much damage was done in the name of adventure and pride. But the documentary isn't just about loss. It also tells the story of change. When Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister in 1966, everything shifted. A true animal lover, she was determined to stop the killing of tigers. Her powerful speech at the General Assembly and her push to declare the tiger as India's national animal brought the focus back to protection, not there, the documentary covers major conservation efforts like 'Let Us Count Our Tigers', 'Operation Save Tigers', and the intense 'Project Save Avni'. The story of 'Project Save Avni' hits particularly hard. It's about one tigress, and how even with all our efforts, we couldn't save her. It makes us feel responsible, as if we let her down. The emotions here are strong. Guilt, helplessness, and a desperate need to do 'Project Tiger' ends on a hopeful note. After all the struggles, it became one of the most successful wildlife protection initiatives in the world. And that's something to be proud powerful storytelling, emotional depth, and a clear message, 'Project Tiger' makes you care, not just about tigers, but about what they represent. It shows us the impact of our actions and reminds us that saving one animal can sometimes mean saving a part of ourselves, too. Filmed by renowned wildlife filmmaker and conservationist Kalyan Verma, whose work has received global recognition and an Emmy nomination, the documentary charts the project's evolution over five decades, shedding light not only on its successes but also on the setbacks, controversies, and compromises encountered along the documentary is available to stream on Discovery+- Ends
Deccan Herald
2 days ago
- General
- Deccan Herald
Lessons in co-existence: Karnataka tribes blend rituals with conservation
Waghoba, Beteraya, Wageli, Wagro, Hulidevara, Huliyappa, and Huliveerappa — these are just some of the many names by which the awe-inspiring tiger is known among forest dwellers across Karnataka. These names are not merely linguistic variations. They reflect deep devotion among Kunabi, Soliga, Havyaka and Jenukuruba these communities, the tiger is both protector and destroyer, revered as a divine being who rules the land. To live in harmony with this king of the forest, they believe, is to ensure a win-win relationship for both humans and the beast. .'Project Tiger' review: Retelling the tiger's before the world began observing International Tiger Day on July 29, celebrated globally since 2010, forest communities in India — including those in Karnataka's Western Ghats and coastal tiger territories — have worshipped the big centuries, certain rituals have invoked the tiger's blessings. For instance, when newlywed daughters or daughters-in-law pass through forested paths on their way to their husband's home, families seek the tiger's protection for a safe journey. Similarly, prayers are offered at the start of the harvest season or before cattle are sent to graze in the forest. .This blend of reverence and ritual can be seen clearly in the town of Londa in Belagavi district, where the Waghoba temple stands as a symbol of enduring devotion. Locals say the recently renovated temple is more than 300 years old. It was once surrounded by dense forest, until railway tracks laid during British rule fragmented the landscape and brought human settlements closer. .Ravishankar Mirashi, a priest from the Kunabi community, recalls how the temple served as a ritual starting point for brides heading to their new homes. 'The entire village would gather at the temple and pray to Lord Waghoba to keep her safe as she passed through the forest path,' he today, Waghoba is honoured with special prayers during the ten days of Dasara. Devotional songs in Marathi echo through the temple, sung by members of the Kunabi community. On Mondays and new moon days, rituals are held to seek protection from the tiger deity. 'No labourer will begin harvesting in nearby fields without offering prayers to Waghoba first,' says Mirashi. .Elevated statusBeyond individual temples, the belief system itself gives the tiger an elevated place in spiritual life. There are sacred sites where the tiger is worshipped even before Lord Ganesha, who traditionally receives the first prayers in Hindu rituals. In some places, the tiger is venerated as the mount of deities; in others, it is worshipped as a deity in its own the Soliga community, tiger worship is not a seasonal ritual but an intrinsic part of daily life. Frequently cited as a model of human-animal coexistence, the Soligas do not see the tiger merely as the mount of their deity, Male Mahadeshwara.'Every Soliga child grows up hearing hundreds of songs praising the tiger's strength and grace. Huliveerappa is our judge. We believe he punishes those who harm the community or break the laws of the forest,' says Soliga leader Dr C Madegowda from B R Hills. .Tiger worship among the Soligas peaks during Ugadi and the harvest season. From February to May, community members carry tiger idols in processions as part of seasonal rituals that reinforce their respect for the Agnihotri, who has worked with the Soliga tribes, explains that deifying a wild animal was a conscious way to ensure its tribal communities recognised that safeguarding the tiger also meant preserving the forest around it. .'At a time when tigers are rapidly losing their habitat and human-tiger conflicts are rising, there is much to learn from these traditional practices. They remind us that conserving this apex predator, an umbrella species, is also a way of conserving the forest itself,' she reverence is echoed across regions. In Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, there are hundreds of Hulidevara temples and sacred groves dedicated to tigers. In Joida taluk, for instance, the Kunabi community places the tiger third in their religious hierarchy. 'After our local deity and the Astadikpalakas, the tiger or Vagro is our most important god. During Holi, we offer him special prayers,' says community member Jayanand Derekar. .According to him, the tiger is regarded as a leader or Nayak. Every hamlet has either a statue or a stone that serves as a site of worship. 'Though we have lived among tigers for centuries, not a single one has harmed or killed a member of our community. We believe a tiger will attack only if one commits an unpardonable sin. In such cases, we perform special prayers at one of the tiger's sacred sites as an act of repentance,' he also notes that the tiger defines the boundaries between its territory and human habitation. 'This understanding ensures that we do not over-extract minor forest produce from protected areas. Today, the modern forest department's tender system is breaching these boundaries, leading to more human-animal conflict.'Further south, in Yellapur and neighbouring areas, the tiger is revered with an added sense of fear. Members of the Havyaka community offer one coconut for each head of cattle they own, a gesture of supplication to the the holy month of Karthika, as the rest of the country celebrates Deepavali, the Havyakas begin their rituals with prayers to the tiger before turning to their cows. .ConservationEnvironmentalist Shivananda Kalave explains that the practice of balake ondu tenginakai — one coconut for every cattle tail — is a prayer asking the tiger not to harm their livestock when grazing. Here, the Hulidevara temples are not located within villages, but deep inside the jungle.'The presence of such temples is proof that tigers once lived in these areas. Within half a kilometre of each site, there is usually a perennial water source. These forest patches were left untouched by humans in reverence for the tiger,' Kalave says. He has documented more than 160 such places between Bhatkal and Yellapur in Uttara Kannada.'Not all of these temples have tiger idols. Some are marked by stones, hillocks or trees that were known tiger haunts. The Malnad region is dotted with many such Hulikallu and Hulimane,' he many experts agree that these traditions stem in part from fear, they also acknowledge the role such beliefs have played in creating safe spaces for wildlife. These cultural practices, born from reverence and restraint, have quietly contributed to conservation for generations.
Time of India
5 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Tiger population tells success of India's wildlife conservation story but challenges remain
NEW DELHI: In 2006, India had just 1,411 tigers left in the wild. By 2022, there were 3,682, almost 75% of the world's wild tiger population — a 161% jump in just 16 years. More than 50 years since the launch of Project Tiger in 1973, the numbers tell a tale that's obvious: tiger conservation has been a roaring success. But challenges remain. 03:37 Where Tigers Get Caught Between Faith And Tourism | I Witness The numbers are significant, especially in the backdrop of a decline in tiger population in the 1980s, and a period of not-so-robust growth thereafter because of multiple factors, primarily poaching. By 2004, the situation had become so bad that tigers were on the brink of extinction at Rajasthan's Sariska Tiger Reserve. The country's wildlife managers and biologists sensed the urgency and started taking multiple measures to protect the existing tiger population and increase the number of big cats. But, in the journey from 1,411 in 2006 to 3,682 in 2022, many lessons have been learnt — primarily about human-tiger conflict and the lurking threat of poaching. 'The country has been a leader in tiger conservation,' said Yadvendradev V Jhala, a senior scientist at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, and a former dean of Wildlife Institute of India (WII). But Jhala — who has been part of the journey to bring back tigers through policy intervention and management strategies, following the Sariska situation — cautions that the threat to tigers has never gone away. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Cote D'ivoire: New Senior Apartments (Prices May Surprise You) Senior Apartments | Search Ads Search Now Undo 'Though India now has approximately 3,700 tigers, they are still vulnerable and can be decimated if poaching is left unchecked, as the market for illegal tiger parts and products still thrives outside India. ' He also reminded that the tiger population increase had not been uniform: reserves such as Palamau (Jharkhand), Achanakmar (Chhattisgarh), Satkosia (Odisha), Dampa (Mizoram) and Buxa (Bengal) have seen declines and localised extinctions. On the other hand, big cat populations in Uttarakhand and eastern Maharashtra had increased so much that man-animal conflict has become an issue. 'Also, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand have registered declines, though they have good habitats because of prey base depletion,' Jhala said. India began its efforts to protect the tiger population when it launched Project Tiger as a centrally sponsored scheme in 1973 in nine reserves (Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bengal) over a 14,000sq km area. Since then, project coverage has expanded to 58 tiger reserves, over more than 84,487sq km across 18 states, occupying nearly 2.5% of the country's total geographical area. The numbers show that approximately 35% of our tiger reserves urgently require enhanced protection measures, such as habitat restoration, ungulate augmentation and subsequent tiger reintroduction. 'Tiger recovery is linked with rural community prosperity and law and order,' Jhala said. 'In the last 20 years, wherever there has been extreme poverty and armed conflicts (Maoist activity or other law-and-order problems), we have seen tiger extinctions. Improving the livelihoods of forest communities, so that they do not have to rely on forest produce for a living, will reduce their negative impact on biodiversity. ' He, however, stressed that India would need a strategy to manage the growing population of tigers. 'If this is not done in time, there will likely be a severe backlash from local communities, and we stand to lose all we gained in the past 20 years.' The conflict has, indeed, taken a human toll. The environment ministry told Parliament on July 24 that 73 lives were lost in tiger attacks in 2024, with Maharashtra reporting the highest (42), followed by UP (10), MP (6), Uttarakhand (5) and Assam (4). There were 51 human lives lost in 2020, 59 in 2021, 110 in 2022 and 85 in 2023. Indian Forest Service officer and Barabanki DFO Akash Deep Badhawan said during his tenure as DFO Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, Bahraich, forest personnel grappled with a mix of threats: a 45km porous border with Nepal, with cross-border gangs and illegal wildlife trade putting staff at risk. Understaffing and resource shortages are another constraint. 'Human-wildlife conflict fuels mistrust between communities and enforcement teams. Efforts to evict encroachments or set up fencing provoke resistance from villagers, compounding socio-political tension. Balancing legal constraints, regulatory delays, and ecological imperatives adds further administrative and ethical complexity.'
The Hindu
6 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Dedicated gibbon conservation action plan sought in NE
GUWAHATI A leading Assam-based primatologist has sought a dedicated gibbon conservation action plan modelled on Project Tiger or Project Elephant to ensure the long-term survival of the western hoolock gibbon (Hoolock hoolock), India's only ape species. Addressing the 30th Congress of the International Primatological Society (IPS) at Antananarivo in Madagascar from July 20-25, India representative Dilip Chetry underscored the urgency of a national-level Project Gibbon given the grave threats the ape faces from habitat loss. One of 20 gibbon species found in Asia and currently listed as endangered on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the hoolock gibbon is distributed across eastern Bangladesh, parts of Myanmar, and India's northeastern region. The primate's populations in India are restricted to the southern bank of the Brahmaputra River and east of the Dibang River across seven northeastern States – Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura. 'The hoolock gibbon faces habitat loss due to encroachment, unregulated resource extraction, infrastructure development, tea plantations, shifting cultivation, fragmentation, hunting, and the illegal wildlife trade. Cases of local extinction have already been observed in fragmented forest patches of the northeast, reflecting a steady population decline,' said Dr Chetry, who serves as the vice chair of the Primate Specialist Group–South Asia under the IUCN's Species Survival Commission (SSC). He advocated for urgent conservation actions, including the restoration of degraded habitats, creation of ecological corridors, scientific research, capacity building for forest staff, and community engagement. He also stressed the need to promote the western hoolock gibbon as a flagship species to generate broader public and policy support for biodiversity conservation in the region. The IPS convention brought together 657 delegates from 53 countries to evaluate the world's 25 most endangered primates for 2025-27. Its special session was chaired by Russell A. Mittermeier, a conservationist and chair of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group. Dr. Chetry, also the director and head of the Primate Research and Conservation Division of Aaranyak, a biodiversity conservation organisation, said the western hoolock gibbon is among the six of the world's 25 most endangered primates from Asia. The other five are the Banka slow loris (Nycticebus bancanus), Sangihe tarsier (Tarsius sangirensis), pig-tailed langur (Simias concolor), Myanmar snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus strykeri), and the Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis).
Economic Times
01-08-2025
- General
- Economic Times
Tigers are not out of the woods yet
Synopsis India faced a severe decline in its tiger population post-independence. Project Tiger helped increase the numbers significantly. Now, the tiger population is over 3,700. Balancing tourism and conservation is a key challenge. Protecting villagers' interests is also important. The threat of poaching and the Chinese market remains. India needs innovative solutions for tiger conservation. Agencies The figures speak for themselves. In 1947, India's human population was 340 million and there were an estimated 40,000 tigers; when Project Tiger was launched in 1973, there were just 268 of them left although humans in India had nearly doubled to 584 million by then. So, since Independence 1,600 tigers had been killed per year, more than during the British Raj actually, although it was the white sahibs who had made large-scale hunting of the big feline a fashionable "sport".Till it was banned in 1972, people may recall that shikar was a tourism draw in India, with "game hunters" coming to shoot these magnificent animals, much as they kill lions in Africa now. That was probably justified then (as it is in some countries in Africa even now) as a legitimate economic activity, as there's such a "surplus" of them. What is a surplus? Surely if any species is "surplus" right now, it's humans but sport is not considered a way to remedy for "sport" or pleasure not food was always a pastime for Indian monarchs. But in the 19th century it became so democratised that every burra sahib, feudal and local notable worth his khidmatgars shot tigers, leopards and even the cheetah (the latter to extinction) by the mid-20th century. And to this day, hundreds of stuffed animals or their skins and heads adorn old forts, palaces and mansions. But people cringe at the very idea of displaying human skulls. Why?The human population of India has quadrupled from the 1947 figure to a whopping 1.4 billion now, but the tiger population has also increased over 10 times from 1972's abysmal three-figure to over 3,700 now. That we have managed to do this is nothing short of amazing even though there are alarming photos all the time of hordes of noisy, camera-wielding desi tourists in our tiger reserves and national parks. And that highlights a piquant to retired Forest Service stalwarts speaking on World Tiger Day at the Tollygunge Club in Kolkata last week, it was clear that unless people feel invested in tigers, they will not be motivated to protect them. The official focus, of course, is on villagers who live next to tiger reserves and often feel sidelined in favour of the endangered species. Their concerns-especially regarding compensation for families of those killed by tigers-are being addressed so that they do not regard the animals as enemies or harbingers of death and financial ruin. But what about the millions of tourists? Roads cutting through core areas, more vehicles accessing sanctuaries and staying longer hours inside, hotels hemming in the jungle and the sheer pressure of human interest in tigers and other large wildlife like lions, rhinos, elephants, gaud (bison) are scary developments. But the monetary lure of the insatiable Chinese market for wild tiger parts is also a perennial threat. So, could curtailing public access in order to protect tiger habitats then actually aid poaching?India's human population growth has slowed hugely; we now have to continue to demonstrate to the world the efficacy of our different approach to "managing" wildlife too. When India banned the fashionable "sport" of hunting and decided to save the tiger, the world sniggered. Seeing 268 become 3,700, they cannot deny the success of Project Tiger. With the Chinese spectre always looming, India also needs to think imaginatively now to resolve the current tiger-tourism conflict too.
