The life-long hard work put in by the likes of Valmik Thapar, Raghu Chundawat, Belinda Wright seem to go in vein. India is fast losing count of its tigers. I watched a documentary by Thapar in TV about how Sariska lost it, and how Panna is not far behind. I read on newspaper multiple times of late. In fact the most recent article says the steepest rate of fall is observed in Kanha. Just a few weeks back Madhya Pradesh government relocated 2 tigresses to Panna - but till today no trace has been found for the male partner these were brought in for! "There are no tigers in Panna now" - says Dr Raghu. These people have been fighting with the government bodies throughout their life. Even in Sariska the government officials always denied poaching, used some age-old techniques to count tigers and lived happily with unrealistic statistics. When a "real" survey revealed that there was not a single tiger left in Sariska, they struggled to answer - attributed the calamity to some vague reasons. Poaching has been the primary threat in all these places. Surely that doesn't run without the blessings of the government Project Tiger personnels. Belinda Wright has already proven how tiger skins get smuggled to Tibet. She had lucidly described the poaching communities in MP and Haryana at length. The government ignored all that and are now facing grave consequences with Eco-tourism at stake.
I've been lucky enought to spot tigers in Kanha - I know how it feels to sight them in their natural wild habitat. I've been to Ranthambore, Nagarhole and BR Hills. When I read/hear all these it hurts. The only consolation is to see a few exemplary individuals who live their lives with their passion, fight for a cause, and never compromise.