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Bandhavgarh National Park
Bandhavgarh National Park is located at Vindhya hills in Madhya Pradesh. Consisting of a core area of around 105 sq km and a buffer area of approximately 400 sq km, the terrain varies between steep hills and valleys, grassy swamps and forest. Formerly a
Maharaja’s hunting preserve, Bandhavgarh is famous for it’s population of Tiger, considered to be the greatest number to be found in India.
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Since Bandhavgarh was declared a national park in the 1960’s, many measures have been taken to maintain the unspoilt natural habitat. A wide variety of wildlife can be found within the Park, including leopard, wild boar, guar (Indian bison), sambhar and spotted deer, sloth bear, porcupine and of course, the Bengal Tiger.
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Since 2004 FOC have been working in conjunction with one major UK adventure tour operator to ensure the future of Bandhavgarh's tiger population. This park has one of the few remaining relatively stable populations of tigers. However this is no grounds for complacency because as poachers continue to ply their despicable trade elsewhere and empty India's more accessible parks, they will soon turn their intentions here. The obscene trade in Chinese traditional medicine whether it be bear bile, ivory or tiger bone continues unabated, as does the now fashionable fur trade, especially in Tibet. Never before has this extraordinary cat required more assistance. |
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| As you leave the Bandhavgarh national park in the central Indian state of Madyha Pradesh you might spot a crudely painted sign depicting a tiger and an apology. "Sorry if you didn't see me," it says, " but don't worry - I saw you." Scant compensation if you've travelled thousands of miles to see the world's most endangered predator, but actually this is a park which you have a decent chance of spending time with this magnificent
animal. For them to survive local people must benefit and over the last few years more than $15,000 has been wisely spent on rebuilding the school which connects all the local people to the park. This is just the start though, park patrols need more supplies, more staff, better equipment, better transport. If these demands are met by donations, it is automatically good for the tiger as well, and by default, good for the tourist. |
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There are 58 Royal Bengal Tigers living in Bandhavgarh and the first sighting invariably invokes gasps as well as tears but it is difficult to tell if they are tears of wonder at this magnificent predator or tears of sorrow for a doomed species.
We all know the key facts: in 1907 there were over 100,000 tigers living in an arc extending from Siberia to Iran. A century later the population is down to less than 5000, and it continues to
fall. It seems as if tigers are simply too powerful, too dangerous and too beautiful to exist in the modern
world. The value of a dead tiger is around £20,000, and in a land
such as India, where the average daily wage is just 60p a day, twenty
thousand pounds goes a very long way.
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| Then there's the indirect persecution.
Tiger habitat is being lost through local people taking precious natural forest resources for firewood and allowing their cattle to graze freely in the park.
Anti-poaching patrols have had some success, but what the tigers really need is the awareness, support and, crucially, funds
from visitors who understand that their very presence in the park enhances the lives of the local community. Here's why: |
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Five miles down the road from the village of Tala lives a ten year-old girl called Nisha. Her father is unemployed, her mother is bedridden with tuberculosis and the family can't afford the treatment. Every day Nisha hikes five miles to a school with no toilets, a leaking roof and no hope whatsoever of improving her life. Every morning she is passed by jeeps full of tourists on their way to the park, and every evening they pass her on their way back to dinner at their distant hotels, but they're irrelevant to Nisha. Back home there's no firewood, because the only source is inside the park, and she cooks the family dinner on a fire made of cow dung. Somewhere nearby a tiger roars, but she couldn't care less. He too is irrelevant to her, until he steals
or kills her father's cattle or a poaching gang pays the family a few hundred rupees to keep
quiet about their activities. |
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| But what happens if the tourists stay in Tala, and each one donates a few
pounds to the school? Now the roof is repaired, there's a brand new toilet block and a computer room. There are new teachers too, attracted by the facilities, and there's a chance that Nisha will make something of her life. Things are looking up at home, too: her dad has got a job at one of the lodges and because he can now afford medicine her mum is up and about. Firewood is still hard to come by but Nisha doesn't blame the tigers. Thanks to
donations received through FOC,
she now couldn't imagine life without them. |
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| It would be a shame to see that sign at the park exit replaced by another saying "sorry if you didn't see me - I'm dead and gone." |
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| Our work to support the Bandhavgarh Tigers and the neighbouring community will not stop.
Please donate today - this is what we will be spending your money on: |
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The School
A new school hall
Two new classrooms
A diesel generator |
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The park
8 Solar lights
4 Motorcycles
2 Jeeps -$WD
300 winter jackets
190 Bicycles
150 Blankets
155 Sleeping bags |
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| Also in due course as the nearest hospital is 35 KM away in Umaria if funds are sufficient a clinic would be on the shopping list. |
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| Here's a sobering thought: with a little luck, Tiger Woods will be winning trophies for years to come. His magnificent namesakes need a lot more than luck if they're to survive even the next decade.
You can choose get involved now, or you can hope that 'someone else' will do something.
For now, Bandhavgarh has an acceptable
tiger population, but if this precious
charismatic animal is reliant on just this and a couple of other parks, what are we going to tell our children when the bloodline peters out? |
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