I would like to thank Wild World India for the great support, perfect organization and best guides during our tiger-shooting safari in India. Daisy Gilardini, Switzerland
If statistics were any indication of India's wildlife, imagine this. India harbours 60% of the world's wild Tiger population, 50% of Asian Elephants, 80% of the One-horned Rhinoceros and the entire remaining population of the Asiatic Lion. All this, in a land that has one sixth of the entire human population on roughly 2.2% of the earth's total landmass. It is something of a miracle that despite such population pressure, this country supports such diverse wildlife. India perhaps has the answer to the biggest challenge facing wildlife - how to co-exist with wild animals in an over-crowded world.
India's obsession with wildlife can be traced to its 330 million gods and goddesses. The earliest indication, the Harappan seal of Pasupati or the Lord of the Animals, goes as far back as 2500 BC. Apart from being featured in several mythological tales, animals have been further elevated due to the concept of vahanas (sacred mounts) of many Hindu gods. In the 3rd Century BC, the Indian emperor Ashoka converted to Buddhism and soon after issued India's first known conservation law 'The 5th Pillar Edict', forbidding the slaughter of animals and burning of forests. In Rajasthan's Karni Mata Temple at Deshnok, locals revere rats as their reincarnated ancestors. The Bishnois, who revere the blackbuck, consider all life forms sacred. The cult was founded in late 15th century by Guru Jambhoji, who laid down 29 conservation principles (Bishnoi in Rajasthani means 29). In 1730, a Bishnoi woman Amrita Devi clung to a temple tree that was to be cut and gave up her life. Following her example, 362 others clung to the trees and courted death. Perhaps it is such interlinking of religious beliefs and animals that lends an air of sanctity to wildlife in India.
Despite indulgent royal hunts, some kings realized the importance of maintaining wildlife and developed Shikargahs (Game Reserves). The British too, indulged in rampant hunts and felled forests for timber and cultivation, but with help from nature-loving officials like Jim Corbett and Col. Pennyquick, buffer zones and private reserves were created. After independence, the conservation movement gained critical mass. The Chipko movement, led by Sunderlal Bahuguna, urged people to hug (chipko in Hindi) trees to prevent them from being cut down. The great ornithologist Dr. Salim Ali spent his entire life studying birds and creating safe sanctuaries for them. At the beginning of the 20th century more than 40,000 tigers roamed India but numbers plummeted to 2000 by the 1970s. The scare was big enough to initiate Project Tiger and today 89 national parks and 497 sanctuaries remain the last refuge for wildlife in India.
However, in a country with a steadily burgeoning population, the challenges for wildlife protection are many - encroachments into parks by neighbouring villages, cattle grazing, poaching, retaliatory killings, the demand for animal skins and parts, frequent man-animal conflicts and a shrinking forest cover, to name a few. Yet, it is local communities - often with limited resources but unlimited resolve - that have taken upon the task of conserving the natural heritage they have bequeathed. In Khichan, a village co-operative collectively funds the feeding of large flocks of Demoiselle Cranes each winter. In a 7 sq km tract of shallow land called Tal Chhapar, locals protect and feed thousands of blackbucks, a Schedule-A animal as per the Indian Wildlife Act. Similar protective efforts are on at several parks across India. As part of Mahseer Conservation Society, we work towards the conservation of this endemic fish and the riverine system through an integrated approach involving the forest department and the local communities. Responsible tourism only helps the cause. We at Wild World India believe that conservation can only happen through awareness; and nothing is as big an eye-opener as a foray into the Indian jungles.
