Yes, there are many negatives out there in the world of big cat and wildlife conservation but it's time to focus on the positives... and make them grow...
In Nepal, and in parts of India, the word "tiger" is often used to refer to leopard or snow leopard and even smaller wild cats. More than once I've been told there's tiger in the area when the striped version as we call it hasn't been sighted for twenty years or more. Although it can be a little confusing I like the reference. It's reasonably easy to ascertain that we might actually be talking about something else but what is always true is the sense of power that is always evoked by a top predator. For that matter of course other predators like bears, crocodiles, sharks and birds of prey bring the same sense of awe as do massive mammals like elephants, rhinos and whales. Everyone seems to have there own "tiger" and often more than one. We all have animals that stir us.
The tigers (striped and others) of Nepal, like the people, face big challenges. A small country, a struggling economy, a great deal of poverty and an unstable political situation where corruption is rife. The growing population face food shortages and infrastructure issues. Despite being wedged between burgeoning heavyweights, China and India, sometimes the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu, can have electricity for well under half its day. Tigers, like elephants, rhinos and a huge amount of biodiversity share this landlocked country with a human population among the poorest in the world.
Despite all this, there is huge hope for the tiger in Nepal.
In another land completely, I'm writing this while sitting on a ledge, about 100 metres above the ocean, not far from the lighthouse where I finished my most recent trek for the tiger last March. (107 kilometers - Every Step Was Worth It For The Tiger...) This time I didn't rush along the coastline but I am a bit late, simply due to the vagaries of life. It's a beautiful place, sea eagles soar and at certain times of the year humpback whales breach. Across a vast waterway on one side lies a busy National Park, I look to the other side and the ocean goes on forever.
I look south along the vast expanse of Palm Beach and there are mansions, summer getaways for movie stars and the Sydney elite, all rather idyllic really. A glowing reference to the boisterous economy and lifestyle that Australia offers.
Yet, for all its beauty, I sit here thinking about a huge irony. Here in Australia, as well as in my birth country New Zealand just across the Tasman sea, we have managed to facilitate the worst extinction rates on the planet. The wealth has come at a great cost and the price is still going up. As a direct result of human activity many mammals and indeed a tiger, are no more.
We hunted it to extinction because we didn't like it killing our sheep.
So at this point I could easily rave on about the species we have wiped out, or the ones we are trying to and I certainly don't have to just talk about Australia. However, I'm going to take the positive track in my ironic thinking right now and yeah, the tiger in Nepal is alive and well.
One of the poorest countries in the world still has its apex predator. It still has rhinos and elephants. It still has those other tigers, the leopard and the snow leopard.
Ten years ago when I undertook the expedition TigerTrek there were more tigers in Nepal than there are now. There were more tigers throughout their range in the thirteen nations who have them. Despite all the efforts of NGOs and some Governments, countless international conferences, the huge growth in awareness through the established media and social media, the tiger is still under huge threat. Despite everything, we still haven't quite got it right.
This time it's not just about it killing our sheep it's also because of our greed and stupidity. A ridiculous demand and willing suppliers. The scourge that is illegal wildlife trade.
But the tiger survives.
And there are many reasons why. Reasons that don't make the news. . While international environment policy meetings are held are held at vast expense, small groups of unpaid villagers quietly plant trees in tiger corridors. At the same time as millions of Facebook users emit tonnes of greenhouse gases commenting on conservation issues, activists are making sure small man made ponds have enough water for leopards and other wildlife. As numerous NGOs operate awareness campaigns with staff getting paid western style salaries, a young woman sits quietly in a crowded bazaar quietly observing illegal wildlife traders do their work.
We pay this woman a small wage, miniscule by western standards especially considering the risk she is taking. She does it because she knows it’s the right thing to do. She is making a real difference.
So many people are trying, we just need to balance it out to be more effective, to win.
Ten years ago after I completed TigerTrek I quietly went into my shell because people seemed to be more interested than my adventures than the cause I was striving for. While within my shell I’ve brushed with many sides of illegal wildlife trade including poachers, dealers, buyers, activists, law enforcement and politicians. A lot has changed in that time and now, after a lot of encouragement, I feel compelled to speak out. Firstly, however, I return to one of my favourite tiger landscapes, Nepal, where over many years I’ve slowly learned some truth on this whole issue.
Jungle to the Sky will see me trek an established illegal wildlife trade route, it will see me engage with those on the ground in trying to protect the tiger, it will take me to places of my past and to new locations to help my understanding.
While I profess, that even after all these years, to still knowing very little I can promise the truth will often be more than a little surprising…the years have at least taught me that.
In that respect the tiger is a metaphor for truth. This animal if we give it space can survive. That is an absolute truth.
But does our species, as a collective, really have the desire to give the tiger its space? That is a question for which I'd love the true answer. My gut feeling is yes but the situation is so complex and we have become so entangled in our mistakes I really feel we have to return to a very basic connection with nature and find whatever our own tiger is.
You can join me in JUNGLE TO THE SKY – Come and trek for the tiger, wildlife, habitat, people...
"I'm really excited about Jungle to the Sky and I'd love you to join me for parts of it. In October and November 2013 you're invited to incredible Nepal, jungle and mountain, you'll learn about camera trapping, anti poaching units and so much more. The funds we raise from having you along will help us combat illegal wildlife trade and aid community conservation. It'll be the adventure of a lifetime and I'm really looking forward to you trekking for the Tiger, Wildlife, Habitat, People...Email me at jk@wildtiger.org and I'll get back to you soon :)
