Minutes earlier this Golden Eagle had swooped above me, very close. I hurried to get a closer view of the ridge, the great bird appeared again, fleetingly but beautifully. I had just enough time to take a photograph. Read on for more on the relevance of this.
I've got a heavy heart writing this today because a mountain man, a real snow leopard has gone...yeah, please just read on...
In the meantime the world's worst kept secret is out. Tiger numbers in Nepal are up. As is the way these days the announcement was made at a time when maximum publicity could be generated, on International Tiger Day. Nepal understands the maxim well, no tigers no tourists. The timely announcement really only told what was has been known on the back streets for some time now. At WildTigerNews we tweeted about it previously and I've certainly alluded to it in several blogs, but ha!, it drew little reaction.
Maybe some people don't want to hear it. They don't want to hear that the tiger is actually doing ok in the the places where it has a future. In smaller fragmented habitats it will disappear, that's not rocket science. Overall however, after a difficult last two decades, the tiger has fought back well. Yes, the latest figures from Nepal will give the doomsayers some fodder with the news that the Chitwan National Park numbers are in fact not showing improvement. Previous figures from that area were questionable anyway so it's a moot point. No tiger census can be exact.
I've recently seen several tigers in Bardia. It's like they were everywhere. I even had the strangest solo encounter, yes I was a naughty boy and went walking off on my own. I've written about this in previous blogs but you'll just have to buy the bloody book to get more. People have been talking for months about a population of between 45 and 60 in Bardia. The official figure of 50 just released seems fair. It's a truthful figure.
Big brother India needs to announce truthful figures soon. The money is there, the expertise is there and the tigers are there. I hope you're going to be honest about it boys, some of us are watching very closely.
Big brother China needs truth telling as well. Enough said for now.
I could have entitled this blog "Flight, Height and Lies". So why lie about tiger figures? It can suit to announce low figures, "hey, we need money". It can suit to announce high figures, "hey, we're doing a great job, give us some more money". It can suit the tourism sector, "hey, come see our tigers".
Fortunately we live in an age where technology and science can fight propaganda. Camera traps and cutting edge identification techniques are making it harder for the figure manipulators. This adds credibility to the Nepal announcement. Whatever the real figure is, the tiger is doing ok. Still a lot of work to be done but plenty of room for hope.
My eagle photograph came at the end of a long day. It was near Jomson in Lower Mustang. I had been trekking for nearly 11 hours having left High Camp at before 6am that morning. It was a hard day, part of the speed trek I was doing, research on the run. Human/wildlife conflict in the Annapurna area is a fascinating study. I've heard so many stories. There are those who swear they have seen striped tiger, panthera tigris, in mountain jungle areas there recently. Those other tigers, also known as leopard and snow leopard, eat a lot of domestic livestock, events that change lives. In three trips to the Annapurna in the last few months I've heard some sad tales. Lose fifteen goats in an afternoon to leopards and your life changes forever. A job in Dubai, away from family, friends, village community for years on end.
Revenge killing is actually rare but does happen. The implementation of a decent insurance/compensation scheme is the only answer. Hunting is unabated in a few areas of the Annapurna. Kill too many deer and the leopard needs to eat something else.
The Annapurna is getting closer and closer to being entirely community run from a conservation perspective. It is almost a unique model globally. It's an incredible place. I love it because if you know what you are doing you can sneak off the way nature intended, on foot, for days, into wildlife, into habitat, do some decent work. Yes, there are jeeps now in some places, that's ok, it's opened up some world. But you can still head off, without compulsory guides, into sublime areas. It's real habitat, for people and wildlife. The work has to be done to maintain it, to improve it.
More and more is being discovered about the snow leopard population in the area. I'm heading back to the Annapurna next winter for some camera trapping. Understand the wildlife, the habitat, establish again the connection.
My heart is heavy because Marty Schmidt and his son Denali have both been killed on K2. Marty was an old mate. We did some good mountain stuff together. We had grown into different paths over the years but the respect as mountain people endured. "RIP old mate You were so strong." Another friend reminded me yesterday of the time Marty and I were coming down the Tasman glacier in New Zealand after a hard week in the mountains. Marty, to my astonishment, was putting rocks into an already heavy pack. The rocks were for his garden back in Christchurch. When the earthquake hit that city a couple of years ago I rang him and asked if those rocks had moved. He laughed and said plenty more rocks had been added to the pile since that day on the Tasman.
Marty believed in the truth. He was eternally optimistic. He knew the tiger was doing ok and would continue to do so if the right people had their way. He questioned me about the cult like sycophants who seem to worship the tiger. "Where's their balance?" he asked. Mountaineers understand balance.
You soared like an eagle Marty. Keep flying old mate. There are those of us to tell the truth about tigers...
Footnote: A big thanks to those who made pledges recently (while on my research on the run trek) to help with equipment for our projects. I'm in the process of contacting everyone.
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