The Tiger Story

Tiger tiger fading fast

in the shadow we have cast,

what brave law or business deal

can thy future’s safety seal.

What the future, what the hope

that humankind may learn to cope

with life and maintenance of breath

without this need of needless death.

In what sulphurous cauldron groans

the mind that lives to sell your bones;

and what the moral poverty

of those who take thy life from thee?

What the learning, what the thought

that values lives like yours at naught?

What the science or machine

where beauty such as yours is seen?

Who did he hate who sowed the seed

of human ignorance and greed;

and can he smile our work to see

as we who killed the lamb kill thee.

Tiger tiger fading fast

from the present to the past,

how can mere humanity

so quickly still thy majesty?
Gordon J.L. Ramel

This poem by Gordon J.L. Ramel clearly depicts the grim that the entire world is facing with the Tiger situation The tigers are on the brink of extinction& that is a huge reality , especially in India , just 1,400 left Tigers are wonderful animals that need to be protected . But unfortunately we have lost in this battle of trying to save the tiger. Sariska has no more tigers left . That is pretty much the story with other Tiger reserves as well . China seems not really that interested in stopping the illegal trade fair , something that could well turn out to be the final death nail for tigers in India . The selfishness of human nature will consume all the beauty that God has created . This hypocrisy of human nature is well put together by Bernard Shaw -

“When a man wants to murder a tiger, he calls it sport; when the tiger wants to murder him, he calls it ferocity. The distinction between crime and justice is no greater.”

The tiger is definitely the most beautiful animals I have seen & also the most ferocious . This is a rare combination of elegance & danger , beauty & ferocity . The walk , The gleaming eyes, the yellow & black coloured stripes adds to the beauty of this wild beast . For a kid , watching a tiger for the first time is a sight he /she would never be able to forget . Mine was unfortunately in a zoo where the fierce animal was caged , sitting calmly like a royal king prying with his dangerous eyes at the human flesh . I was , then & till date remain completely mesmerized whenever I see a tiger . if we don’t preserve them for our next generation to enjoy the same sight , this would be criminal
The tiger can also be extremely unpredictable . There are 3 tiger stories that show the unpredictability of this wild beast
Most people would tend to believe that a caged tiger loses his fierceness , but that is not the case . As it was the case of the man who was killed in a zoo by a tigress. The man was trying to take a photo of the tigress by putting his hand inside the cage in order to get a clear picture with no barriers in the middle . For the tigress , this attempt by the human was a way of challenging her supremacy & this hurt to its royal ego . Next moment she jumped , & killed the ignorant man .
A similar thing happened with me when one of my friends put in an handkerchief inside a tiger cage to show off his bravery . He obviously thought that a caged tiger will not be able to harm him . How wrong was he , as the tiger leaped up in the air & in the next moment was chewing his handkerchief , missing his hand by a whisker . Whether caged or in the jungle , a tiger is always the king that should be enjoyed from a distance , not to be touched or teased .
. Just a few days back , a tigress along with its cub strolled out of its cage in Guwahati Zoo . It took more than 3 hours for the authorities to tranquilize it .All this while there were number of visitors in the zoo being a weekend . None of them were harmed . All this while the people were terrorized , the tigress was taking a stroll . It was the same tigress who had killed a man as mentioned before by me .

Even the Indian Government doesn’t seem to be serious about preserving the endangered species . A recent proposal of the Indian government to clear 399 hectares of land , even though this move will threaten the existence of the endangered langur species . I know progress is important , but does this have to come at the cost of a beautiful species . Mahatma Gandhi ‘the Father of the Nation’ once said

“A nation Progress can be judged by how they treat their animals”

So if we fail to save the Tigers & other endangered species , we as a nation have failed & our progress halted .