I wish someone told me, every tiger has nine lives.
Just like their domestic cousins they could dodge death and extend their lives that much longer. It would be such a relief for conservationists trying night and day to save the wild cats. It would increase their count theoretically from the endangered 3,000 in the world, to a comfortable 27,000 considering each tiger is equivalent of 9.
It will be the poachers who die trying to kill the tiger for its claws and skin and guts. The little space we now provide as forest homes for the king of the jungle would suffice. Some would chop their official habitat with less guilt.
But all this is just wishful thinking. A tiger does not have nine lives, nor does a cat. In reality, the tiger is not even the king of the jungle anymore. It is a king in exile at best. It can live and hunt within the protected boundaries but dare not wish to expand its territories or venture into the land that officially belongs to humans and only humans.
Even within the frozen walls it is not safe. Prowling humans are on the lookout all the time…to kill the beast and turn it into a medicine or a rug.
I wish someone told me that it is the humans who are going extinct and not just the tigers.
Because that is really the truth.
It is how Mother Nature created this planet. It is how she wanted to ensure that each species survived being a part of each other’s lives and not apart.
Humans will not be the sole survivors of planet earth when tigers then trees then herbivores and reptiles and insects and birds perish. We would board the sinking ship too…together just like nature planned.
If tigers do survive, that will make the difference between life and death of every other species on earth including humans.
It is not the tiger that needs nine lives actually. It is us humans who need more luck to save these majestic creatures.
If we turn the fate of this one doomed species, we make sure that the seamless circle of life goes on.
Perhaps we also redeem our place in nature’s eyes…she who made us the most intelligent being on earth only to see us behave like the fool who cuts the tree branch he is sitting on.
Let’s hope the ecological sense prevails and we save that one precious tiger life which in turn saves a hundred lives.
More Related stories,
Can saving a Tiger Help Save a Rare Frog too?
This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda
Image via Flickr/cc by Mahesh_Patil
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