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by Marsel on Fri Nov 16, 2012 6:32 am
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AB, it's obvious you're upset, so allow me to explain the project again.

Tiger conservation on the Asian continent has been problematic for decades - one year it looks like everything is finally moving in the right direction, the next year suddenly it's really bad again. 2012 has not been a good year.

The ever increasing population growth, the resulting habitat loss, the high poverty rate, the ever increasing demand for tiger parts from China and Vietnam, and widespread corruption, all threaten the tiger. So far, efforts to solve these problems have not been very successful. The fact that in one year all tigers in Panna were poached is exemplary for these problems. Just looking at the facts, it is obvious that more needs to be done to save the tiger from going extinct in the wild.

There are many ways to solve a problem. The obvious ways are not nearly as successful as they need to be. The tiger project in SA is the result of out of the box thinking. Start a self sustaining, free roaming tiger population outside Asia without the threats currently associated with tiger conservation.
apana wrote:This is neither a Royal Bengal Tiger nor a Siberian Tiger. What is it? A Cape Tiger? Panthera tigris africanus? Did they swin across from India? What do they eat. How do they interact with other apex predators? What is the grass around the tiger?
All tigers in this park are Bengal tigers. The first ones were captive tigers, all the offspring was born in the park. The tigers can hunt for themselves. They wiped out a herd of hundreds of wildebeest in a matter of months. There are no other predators in the park (yet). I don't know the exact name of the grass you see in this picture, but I know that it's perfect for the tigers when they go stalking and hunting animals. The area that was chosen for this park was selected based on what is ideal tiger habitat - large canyons, lots of water, hills, streams, tall grass, etc.
The next time you should travel with the local tiger experts!
Like I said earlier, I traveled with professional guides from the park, a park official and the director of a tiger conservation organization. They were very friendly and helpful and are not to blame.
Marsel wrote:And when I'm on an assignment for one of the world's biggest magazines, I want and need to get good results. That was one of the reasons why my visit was so frustrating. I was accompanied by a park official and the director of a tiger conservation organization, we even got permission to drive off-road when it became clear that our mission was about to fail. I was actually lucky to have seen that one tiger, because the park had already closed and we were the only two vehicles allowed to stay in.
This is against the law! Besides, with such clout you should have got some tigers!
The decision was made by the park officials.

Either way, what it all comes down to is this: we either sit back and hope that tiger conservation on the Asian continent will succeed, even though there are no factual reasons to believe this, or we can think outside the box. I'd rather see the tiger survive in Africa than to see it go extinct. Tigers, lions, leopards and cheetahs all lived together once on the Asian continent - it's really not that crazy.

Don't get me wrong - I sincerely hope that the tiger population on the Asian continent will grow to healthy numbers again, I really do. But we have to be realistic and look at the facts.

I won't comment on statements made by Neil, other than that I had more or less the same experience.

Thank you for your feedback.
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by steve mackay on Fri Nov 16, 2012 7:50 pm
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Wonderful image and superb IOW!..........
[url=http://www2.clikpic.com/mackay123/index.html][color=#000000]Steve Mackay Photography[/color][/url]
 

by apana on Tue Nov 20, 2012 10:56 pm
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Marsel,

We must agree to disagree on the tigers, but I maintain that the statements made about Indians are bigoted and stupid!
 

by Marsel on Wed Nov 21, 2012 2:44 am
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apana wrote:Marsel,

We must agree to disagree on the tigers, but I maintain that the statements made about Indians are bigoted and stupid!
Again, I can only defend the statements made by myself, not those by Neil. When I was in the above mentioned parks, and especially Ranthambore, it was only the Indian locals that behaved very poorly - shouting, standing up in the vehicles, littering while waiting at a potential tiger sighting, etc. Those are observed facts, nothing more than that. If it had been Dutch tourists I would have been just as shocked.
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