It’s a pity that we have more tigers in captivity than in the wild.
It’s amazing that we have almost 7,000 tigers living in the US either as pets, in shelters or in zoos. Unfortunately that’s more than double their entire wild population in the world which stands close to 3,500.
At some time or the other we have seen the image of a medicine man with a tiger (or other large feline) mask on their head. Also for whatever reason the tiger became an Universal Apothecary. Nearly every part of the tiger was used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The hu gu (Bones in Mandarin) has been the most sought after and the upper front leg bone is the most coveted section of the skeleton.
The tiger skeleton soaked in rice wine - “bone wine” is considered the “elixir” and supposed to impart strength, status and considered a status symbol.
Though the British Raj, and the insatiable status that a tiger hunt and “shikar” got to the Indian Rajahs and their imperial “lords” was instrumental in a rapid decline of the tiger population in India, the pleasure or trophy hunting has stopped, but the poverty stricken denizens of the forests balk at the lucre of oriental medicine.
Live and let live, please. Modern biochemistry has found a lot of solutions for the human, we do not need to decimate an animal for the “elixir”. Let’s head to the apothecary instead of the “Universal apothecary” in the tigers body.
How can this excitement be replicated in the world of humans? Should we rather not experience this in the wild than behind bars or in large private compounds?
Bandhavgarh and Kanha Tiger Reserve, India
The one that started it all for me - Mahaman in Bandhavgrh, Nov, 2017
Spotty - her's is a story for another day. March, 2019
Almost a year old cub - March, 2019
Sangam among the lantana vines, Kanha
My last sight of the spectacular male - Sangam. Will see you again in 2020. Kanha, March, 2019
these are jaw dropping, Bibek. I had the pleasure of photographing Spotty in 2015 and the Rajbhera female (injured in a fight with Spotty)
Hopefully I will reconnect with Spotty and Mahaman in 2020
kdacharya wrote:
these are jaw dropping, Bibek. I had the pleasure of photographing Spotty in 2015 and the Rajbhera female (injured in a fight with Spotty)
Hopefully I will reconnect with Spotty and Mahaman in 2020
Thanks KD. I will be back in late March, 2020. Spotty lost her cubs this year to an intruding male. But heard she has mated and will be expecting this litter survives until we get there. Mahaman has now been moving with Dotty and has fathered the litter (the cub is Dotty's via Mahaman).
Let's hope to see these young ones thrive and sightings in 2020.
armd wrote:
Lovely images and your points are well taken. Loss of habitat and poaching have decimated tiger populations.
Indeed. I missed the loss of habitat. Just last week read a news article about how a tiger was beaten up by some villagers for encroaching in the village and taking some cattle :-(
birdied wrote:
Lovely shots and how fortunate that you get to see them in the wild.
Birdie
Roberta,
This is the one connection I have that keeps pulling me back to my country of birth. Have started a conservation effort that keeps pulling me there once every year.
RobAmy wrote:
Beautiful, it would be a real shame if they are not in the wild in the future.
Things have improved a lot. In fact even in India, the conservation efforts are paying off. The Bengal tiger is slowly recovering. However, the Sumatran and the Siberian are really threatened. Need to save them for sure.
AGeoJO wrote:
Wow, exquisite images of these beautiful and majestic big cats, Bibek! And with a great information to boot and yes, we need to safe them! YGMV!
Super looking images. May be heading to India next year, but this reserve is too far from our planned route. Too bad. Thanks for putting the message out there, Bibek.
KCollett wrote:
Super looking images. May be heading to India next year, but this reserve is too far from our planned route. Too bad. Thanks for putting the message out there, Bibek.
Thank you Ken. Let me know if I can be of any help.
Absolutely beautiful. It must be an amazing experience to see them in the wild. I hope we can save them and increase their numbers in natural habitats rather than zoos.
