Staying off the menu...

Jack's tiger watching tip number 1 -

Put alternative food between you and big striped cat...

This is an interim blog post as I've been having a few connectivity issues here in the hot steamy west Nepal jungle.

So much has happened since my last post, the story changes daily, hopefully I'll be able to post it soon.

"Jungle to the Sky" has brought me back down to the jungle where conditions are really challenging.

What keeps me going is the positive, never complaining attitude of the people I am with.  Today was a perfect example.  It was another training day for members of the local anti poaching team.  We set off in high spirits after experiencing some brilliant wildlife encounters two days before.  We knew we were in for a hot one, the tourists have all but gone, there have been rumbling pre monsoon skys and humidity which means being sweat drenched as early as 6am

The promised heat came but so did two magical tiger sightings which were separated by a 20 minute run through the jungle.  Years of trail running did prepare me a little for this lope in an oven and I managed to convince myself that landing my left foot in a pile of rhino shit was a good thing as tigers don't usually attack rhinos.  Why run in 7 million degree heat and humidity off the scale?  I'll explain when I do get my main blog posted.

For all the magic of the wildlife encounters though it was an incident that occurred on our way back which filled me with pride and admiration.  We stumbled upon 3 people fishing illegally, we hid in the long grass, a strategy was formed, a chase ensued and now 3 poachers are being held for questioning by National Park Staff.

The details soon :)

From Jack in the jungle...

I'm selling my tiger!  Well one of them anyway.  Before anyone starts thinking  I've joined the dark side and have starting trading in wild tiger parts, hang on, this guy is made of wood and is crafted right here in Nepal.

Like me, he looks like he's been through a few battles.  He's even got a tooth missing ... but he's beautiful, I love him.

So why sell him?


Easy answer.  I just want him to go to a good home, anywhere in the world, because it's a kind of a celebration to let him go.  I've just spent some time in two urban jungles researching the illegal bird trade and it makes me really happy to report there have been major improvements in combating this crime.  One of my team at WildTiger has done some incredible work in this area.  I'll be writing more about that soon but it is just fantastic to see that the trade is nowhere near as visible as before.

Don't get me wrong, there is still much to be done. It is a never ending battle and the trade has been driven underground in these cities which means investigations take a different course.  However, it's progress, that makes me happy ... so I'm selling my tiger.

Don't worry, I have more, all different shapes and sizes, lots of books too, yep, I'm a nature geek.  And hey, it's not just about tigers, it's even about wild chickens ... but that's another story coming soon.

My "Jungle to the Sky" journey is taking me to the Himalaya tomorrow to investigate an owl poaching racket.  It's happening in a densely forested I know quite well at elevations between about 2000m to 2500m.  Pre monsoon rains are already changing the trails so I'll be trekking carefully in the heat and humidity.  I went for a long walk around the lake here in Pokhara yesterday.  Luckily I carried an umbrella as I was several kilometres away from home when there was a big downpour.  The sky went black, the lake shimmered, the rain was immense.  Imagine my surprise when a taxi suddenly beeped at me from behind on the dirt track.

"I give you ride, good price!"

I looked through the passenger window at the driver to see his eyes were wider than those beautifully crafted marble plates they sell in Patan.  I realized that he must have been skillful to drive in these conditions while stoned out of his mind actually holding the joint in his left hand and driving with his right.

"It's ok mate, I'm happy walking," I answered.

"You want a smoke then dai?" ... Dai means older brother, pronounced "dee".  He really was happy too.

"No thanks bhai (younger brother), I'm fine" .... the road was about to go uphill, the rain was pouring down, my risk management skills improving.

Big smiles.  Off he went.  I made it home and decided to sell my tiger.

I'll post the details soon.  It'll be through the JaiBagh shop www.wildtiger.org/jaibaghshop

He's beautiful.  If you buy him you'll be helping his wild tiger mates as well as lots of other wildlife and people.

I'll be back in a few days.  Got some owls to help out.

Cheers Jack.

Courage in the Name of the Cause...

The researcher who took this image is a gutsy, courageous, passionate conservationist.  Just a few weeks before he made this shot he confronted an angry mob, standing his ground in his fight against bird trafficking, one of the many elements of the illegal wildlife trade.  One day I'll be able to identify this brave operative and tell his compelling story but right now he is out there ... and making a big difference.

Earlier today I tweeted that tiger numbers in Nepal are on the rise.  I can also report that while the bird trade is still a big problem some real inroads are being made.  It's very naive to think that illegal wildlife trade will be completely wiped out.  It's a bit like saying drug trafficking will one day cease.  However I can say in all honesty that massive gains are being made, we aren't winning yet but we are certainly fighting hard.

Bardia National Park in western Nepal is looking at a zero poaching year ...yes, that means no loss of endangered species including tiger, rhino and elephant.

I personally want to express my thanks for the many messages of support and to those who have visited the JaiBagh Shop (www.wildtiger.org/jaibaghshop) and pre ordered the world's coolest shirt (some other great items coming up).  Your support makes a difference to many people as well as wildlife.  Social entrepreneurship benefits all involved.

The tiger, rhino, elephant and many other species can be saved, the people living in those areas can have good lives as long as we all do this together.

Thanks again,

Jack

Tigers and terrorism, believe it or not they're linked...

Just a very quick one for now, some gritty images and text coming in pre-monsoon reports shortly but first a big thanks for those who ordered "The Shirt".  Every cent counts in Nepal, we really appreciate the support. If you haven't yet check out the amazing work of Rabindra go to the short video here.

Believe it or not, tigers and terrorism are linked.  The events of yesterday in Baghdad and Boston led my train of thinking all over the place, like most people.  I ended up back at an item we posted at @WildTigerNews on Twitter, it was an article in The Times of India which started with:

"Conservationists and wildlife crime experts suspect that an international narcotics network working with militants and poachers, is behind the killing of rhinos at Kaziranga National Park and other protected areas in the state."

National Board of Wildlife member Bittu Sahgal went on to say: "There is no doubt about the involvement of a narcotics network in the illegal trade of rhino horns, ivories and other wildlife parts (read tigers) in the international market.  These wildlife parts are used to propagate narcotics trade as well as arms for militant groups."

Illegal wildlife trafficking has a history of funding terrorist and insurgency groups.  In the previous decade in Nepal, tiger and other wildlife populations were decimated during the civil war. In South America,  right this very second as you read this huge amounts of wildlife are being transported down the the Amazon under the control of organized crime groups with known terrorists links.  Drug cartels in that part of the world use endangered animals as currency.

Even if yesterday's Boston attack was by a lone wolf (I hate that expression in this case, it's an insult to wolves) the links between terrorism, drugs, arms, human trafficking, organized crime and illegal wildlife trade are seriously intertwined.

Sometimes I wonder how there are any tigers, rhinos, elephants, snow leopards etc left at all.  But there are. There is still plenty of hope there always will be.

Because we wont let the bastards win.

My condolences to all the innocents affected in yesterday's bomb blasts.  Kia Kaha Stay Strong.

Looking in the Right Direction...

There is a lot of care, concern and hope out there, it's just the methods that need changing...plus no small amount of truth.

There is every indication that wild tiger numbers globally are on the rise.  Various census are still being conducted but a recent WWF report indicated that numbers are closing in on 4000, a significant rise on the "official" figure of 3200 still bandied round by many government agencies, NGOs and media.  The International tiger Summit in St Petersburg in late 2010 ended with declarations of "let's double the numbers by the next Year of the Tiger in 2022." Two and half years later it would seem that target is realistic, at least approachable.

Of course, it's not all rosy, far from it.  Every week more poaching incidents are reported.  Seizures of tiger parts are so regular it always begs the question just how much trade is slipping through the net.  The trafficking of tiger parts is not at the same epidemic levels that have hit the rhino horn and ivory trades but the smaller population of the big cats compared to those two animals means any loss still makes an impact.  Other iconic wild cat species such as the lion, leopard and snow leopard are still  suffering the consequences of the illegal trade as well as the ongoing issues of human-wildlife conflict due mainly to habitat loss.

The whole situation raises several issues but two in particular occupy my thoughts.  The first is the realization that poaching and illegal wildlife trade will not stop.  Like the selling of illegal drugs and weapons as well as  human trafficking there is simply too much money to be made.  The illegal trade in parts of protected species is worth billions.  And more billions.  It involves criminal syndicates, corrupt officials, cultural myths and no small amount of apathy.  People die.  Poachers are shot dead as are forest guards.  Activists are also fair game to unscrupulous crime groups who will stop at nothing to make sure the trade continues unabated.  Like the war on drugs even the most brilliant strategies to combat the trade come unstuck when up against that basic human element, greed.

On the flip side there is also the fact that people do care.  Many people.  Millions of dollars have being pumped in, law enforcement has been stepped up, countless campaigns have been waged and the overall knowledge bank of understanding the drivers of illegal wildlife trade has certainly improved.  Social networking is playing a role in raising awareness and some big players such as former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian President Vladimir Putin have added what appears to be more than lip service to addressing the problem.  The celebrity ranks get busy with it as well with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Jackie Chan and Chinese basketball player of NBA fame Yao Ming all getting involved.

There's no doubt that all these factors are contributing to an increase in wild tiger numbers.  There is a spin off effect for other species as well as forest protection and illegal trade investigation are both stepped up.  There are still many battles to be won.  China, and they aren't the only one, still persist in allowing tiger farms and despite constant denial this allows tiger products onto the market thus keeping the trade alive.  This is still bad news for the wild population, a poacher's bullet or trap is a much cheaper commodity than feeding a tiger in a cage.  However, awareness in China is growing thanks to the use of people like Yao Ming so species such as the tiger, shark and many others while still under huge threat because of cultural traditions and a growing economy at least have voices on their behalf.

Then, right down at ground level, there is amazing support.  I'll be reporting soon on the current state of the tiger in Nepal and especially some the amazing initiatives such as unpaid planting of trees by community groups in wildlife corridors.  My own heart was gladdened when I posted on various forums that our online shop, JaiBagh, was reopening soon.  We advertised pre-orders of the embroidered tiger shirt and the response was fantastic.  The video of Rabindra creating a tiger freehand with a sewing machine is something to behold, you can see it in my previous post or at www.wildtger.org/jaibaghshop A huge thanks to all those who have pre-ordered and we'll have some other great gear online again soon.

People do care.  There is a lot of effort, especially by under resourced groups on the ground.  It's just that in other parts of the spectrum in the fight to protect endangered species and get balance for economically challenged people living in or near biodiversity hotspots we still have to get our methods right.  I think this was well summed up by Steve Galster of the anti-wildlife trade and human trafficking organization Freeland.  At the end of the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting in Bangkok last month Galster said "They are advocating for demand reduction on one hand, while discussing legalization of trade on the other. It's like putting water on one side of the fire of extinction, and gasoline on the other."

A friend of mine suggested that maybe CITES is a toothless tiger.  The argument is often put forward regarding CITES that these are the cards we have to play with.  My feeling is that if the cards aren't working for you then it is time to change the deck.

The hard work on the ground will continue but it must be supported by better policy.  So many of us care but there has to be more transparency, honesty and better practice for the recent progress in  tiger conservation and other species protection.  There is hope but there has to be more truth.  We all have to look at ourselves in the mirror on that one.

The World's coolest piece of clothing ... helping the Tiger, Wildlife, Habitat, People...

First post for a while, just been so busy but I'll have regular Jungle to the Sky updates soon.

In the meantime, the world's coolest piece of clothing is back!

Check this short video showing about how Rabindra created this amazing tiger for the first JaiBagh shirt.  The skill level is quite extraordinary and Rabindra had to beat a power cut to do it.  It was a great moment.

These shirts are part of a range of goods that will be coming out of Nepal later in April.  We believe in social entrepreneurship.  We don't accept donations but rather we get everyone involved and benefiting by selling meaningful products from Nepal.  The JaiBagh shirt is a classic, a really wonderful piece of clothing.

All profits go to equipment, training, illegal wildlife investigation and human/wildlife conflict training.

Enjoy the video and then go www.wildtiger.org/jaibaghshop to pre-order and jump the queue.

And don't forget you can join me in places like this...

But more on that soon ... cheers Jack

Jungle to the Sky...

"Jungle to the Sky" ... and I hope you can come along...

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.

I am of course talking about the Tasmanian Tiger, the name given to the Thylacine.  We finally finished this guy off in the 1930s in Tasmania, well after it had vanished from mainland Australia.  This tiger was not a feline but it was an apex predator, top of the food chain.

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 :)