Tiger safaris in India
It should never be confused with its African so called equivalent as it will never deliver so much game, but a good safari in India can deliver something entirely different – tiger safaris. This critically endangered predator joins the mountain gorilla as the most momentous wildlife encounter anywhere.
Tigers, due to the obscene trade in body parts, zoos and Chinese 'traditional' medicine, are still declining fast. The ravages of poaching have left an indelible print on this animals' future. In reserves like Sariska there are no tigers left; and even in Ranthambore, despite large numbers of tourists and plenty of funding, their numbers are still dwindling.
Tigers, due to the obscene trade in body parts, zoos and Chinese 'traditional' medicine, are still declining fast. The ravages of poaching have left an indelible print on this animals' future. In reserves like Sariska there are no tigers left; and even in Ranthambore, despite large numbers of tourists and plenty of funding, their numbers are still dwindling.
No tourists = No tigers
At a recent forum at WildlifeXpo, with speakers including Mark Carwardine, Chris Packham, Paul Goldstein, Nick Baker, Lynne Hughes and Powell Ettinger, it was fairly unanimously agreed that vabbing tiger tourism would spell the end for tigers. The money and eyes that tigers generate are the l;ast bastion against their extermination, so, as with mountain gorillas, it is vital that people continue to visit tigers to help stave off extinction. Steppes Discovery have been instrumental in running and promoting responsible travel, and especially very responsible tiger safaris.
Mud, Man-eaters and Mangroves: Fighting to save the Sundarbans Tigers
There is only one place on earth where wild tigers live in a mangrove swamp. At 10,000km2 the Indian and Bangladeshi Sundarbans is the biggest and most bio-diverse mangrove forest in the world, and home to the tiger.
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However the India National Parks of Kanha, Pench, Panna and Bandhavgarh do offer some hope for this magnificent cat. Other areas in India to enjoy wildlife and wilderness are Bharaptur (birds), Kazaringha - one-horned rhinos, the Sundabans and Corbett National Park.
Travel further north into Nepal and Chitwan has birds, rhino and a few elusive tigers. All parks have leopards but they are notoriously difficult to spot. But if it is leopards in the sub-continent you are after try Yala in Sri Lanka. With no other predators there, they are larger and more concentrated than anywhere else in the world.
Recent Asia news
- Hotels to be built in Kruger National Park – And removed from Nepal’s Chitwan
- Laurie Marker comments on Cheetah reintroduction into India
- India's Manas Wildlife Sanctuary on the road to recovery
- China launches rhino farm with South African rhinos
- Rhino poaching epidemic reaches new levels
- 22% increase in Nepalese rhino population
- Indian rhinos successfully moved to new habitat in Manas NP
More Asia news
- Tigers on one side, elephants on the other, but farmers of Nepal no longer trapped in ‘natural jail’
- 3 sites in India recommended for the reintroduction of cheetah
- The perfect spot for tigers...
- South Africa and Zimbabwe at epicentre of rhino poaching surge
- Pygmy hogs thriving in the wild 1 year after reintroduction.
- Richard Leakey speaks about Bushmeat - The most significant immediate threat to the future of wildlife in Africa
- 20th Rhino Shot in 2007 in Kaziranga: Poacher killed.
Gir Forest Reserve to be Expanded to cope with growing Lions Population.December 2007. There are roughly 359 Asiatic Lions living in Gir forest today. However the conservation success over the last 50 years means that there are now more lions than there is room in Gir.
Chitwan National Park
Chitwan is big, and most people only get to touch the edge, but, like one that goes for four, it is a very good edge. There is plenty of wildlife of all shapes and sizes, and you will see lots of it. The star of the show is undoubtedly the Asian one-horned rhino. The prehistoric looking armour plating gives these beasts a sense of security (false as it turns out, but only when humans with guns are around) that means they generally don’t run away when approached, in fact they occasionally do the
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Related News Articles
Rhino poaching epidemic reaches new levelsThe number of rhinos poached so far this year has passed the 300 mark, and more and more reports of rhinos being killed pour in from across Africa. Unless someone somewhere does something soon, there will be few rhinos left. These are this weeks articles about rhino poaching. - But is there are possible solution?
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Leopard conservation in Iran
3 sites in India recommended for the reintroduction of cheetahThe Wildlife Institute of India and The Wildlife Trust of India have recommended three sites as the best places to re-introduce cheetah into India. 18 cheetah will initially be released on the 3 proposed sites; these cheetah will be obtained from the Middle East and Africa
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Tropical Fishes of the East IndiesThese beautiful, elaborately detailed and brilliantly coloured drawings provide an extraordinary description of marine fish fauna of the East Indies and are proving useful to modern day scientists in comparisons with present-day scientific knowledge. From an artistic and historical viewpoint, these drawings are among the finest natural history illustrations ever made.
20th Rhino Shot in 2007 in Kaziranga: Poacher killed.December 2007: Yet another rhino of Kaziranga National Park fell prey to poachers’ bullets on December 16, bringing the total number killed in 2007 to a record 20.
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Family holiday to NepalThe wildlife, mountains, people, noise and smells all make for a perfect family holiday.
From Kathmandu to Chitwan National Park via the foothills of the mighty Himalaya.
Wildlife watching and safaris in Asia
Indian wildife parks
Past stories from Asia
- Nepalese trader confesses to selling 30 leopard skins in 2007.
- 200 sea turtles found on board Chinese fishing boat.
- Survey finds dragonfly haven off Vietnam.
- Two Councilmen from Japanese Whaling Town Break Silence.
- Another new lizard discovered in Vietnam.
- Climate change causes the extinction of the ‘Purple Snail’.
- Five sloth bear cubs being trained for release into the wild.
- Three-legged Sumatran tiger photographed in Tesso Nilo National Park.
- Scientists find large colony of endangered grey-shanked doucs in Vietnam.
- Echo parakeet off the critical list thanks to conservation effort.
- Apo Reef Spared from Predator Starfish.
- New species of lizard discovered in Vietnam.
- Pakke tiger reserve, community protection.
- Indian tiger numbers crash 60% since 2002.
- Nesting ground of rare giant soft shell turtle, not seen for 4 years, found in Cambodia.
- Whalesharks on the up in the Philippines.
- Minke whales being caught in large numbers in Korea as 'accidental bycatch'.
- Chinese fishing boat arrested with 400 sea turtles on board.
- Vast Korean wetlands drained, rare wildlife starves.
- Asian crime syndicates based in Africa fuel illegal ivory surge.
