A tiger is, undeniably, one of the most charismatic of all the animals out there.  The black striped patterns across its body uniquely identifies each tiger with a tinge of contrasting orange of varying intensity adding to its magnificence.  The tigers identify each other based on these stripes.

India is known for its magnificent tigers.  I have been around a few of the reserve forests in India and have acquired information through varied sources to put forth this thought-provoking article on tigers. The photographs appearing all through this article have been shot at many of the prominent tiger parks in India.  With a whopping 70%, India accounts for the world’s largest tiger population.  Please don’t be contended with those numbers.  There are some shocking information later in this article. The other countries with larger tiger populations are Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Nepal.

In today’s information age, we may have come across a plethora of photographs and/or footage portraying these majestic mammals and they look extremely pretty.  However, the tale of tigers in the wild have not been so happy.  Due to the actions of humans, we have systematically destroyed these magnificent species.

There were about 1,00,000 tigers by the commencement of the 20th century with only 3,000 of those in the present day according to a recent census.  Over a period of time, the shrinking population of these impressive species have been alarming. The International Tiger Day, observed July 29 every year, aims to focus on the conservation of Tigers, thereby, trying to increase animal habitat and halt their decline.  A majority of factors contribute to the decline of these majestic mammals.

Deforestation can be attributed as a primary reason for such a steep decline.  A key habitat of these species are the deciduous forests and when they are shrunk, its ecosystem is lost.  Male tigers have larger territories than females, so that the areas overlap and the tigers can mate.  Generally, adult male territories do not overlap with those of other adult males.  With a substantial amount of such forest area cleared up for urbanization and/or commercialization, tigers attack each other for territorial gains.

With large scale deforestation, the climatic change has had a major impact on its sustainability.  A shrinking forest territory has invited poachers and hunters. This, further, has impacted the survival of tigers in India.  The slaughter of tigers during the British regime had decimated the tiger population in the country.  Elsewhere, in Russia, a strong population of about 10,000 had been massacred to as few as 100 in the past few decades. There have been honest confessions by the poachers for having sold tiger skins for clients in China, Nepal and Tibet worth millions of dollars and/or rupees.

The International Tiger Day was founded in the year 2010.  Since its inception, there has been a dramatic increase in the tiger population across the globe.  With greater awareness about the beleaguered mammal, there has been steady increase in the number of tigers. However, even today stray instances of tiger poaching in the country is being reported.

Fellow photographers, wildlife conservationists and/or enthusiasts, and pretty much every other human on this planet, let’s take a pledge to create awareness about our beleaguered big cat.

The mere existence of tigers in their respective territories, shall help thrive many other species and, hence, a balanced ecosystem.  Let’s live in harmony!

Here are some of my best photographs of these magnificent striped Big Cats!

Here’s a splendid visual from my collection:

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