[AntiFurSociety] INDIAN HERITAGE ON THE ROPES-Lions and tigers and the foibles of men

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Tuesday, June 26, 2007 5:37 AM

[AntiFurSociety] INDIAN HERITAGE ON THE ROPES-Lions and tigers and

the foibles of men

 

 

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

 

INDIAN HERITAGE ON THE ROPES

Lions and tigers and the foibles of men

 

By B. GAUTAM

Special to The Japan Times

MADRAS, India - The Chinese now appear to be turning to Indian lions

since a terrifying number of tigers have been killed for their body

parts, which are sold to make medicines and even aphrodisiacs.

 

In India's Gir Forest, the last of some 350 Asiatic lions survive.

These are a subspecies that once roamed from Greece to eastern India.

 

We are told that the lions in Daniel's Biblical den were of this

kind, smaller than their African brothers. Curiously, these Indian

Asiatic lions live alongside 20,000 descendants of African slaves

once shipped into the country.

 

Although wanton shikar (hunting for sport) by British officers and

Indian maharajahs around 1900 depleted the lion population to no

more than 24, post-independence conservation efforts by Indian

administrations resulted in a phenomenal comeback.

 

However, in the past four months, eight lions in the Gir Forest of

northwestern India have been killed by poachers, who have now turned

their attention to these animals after having decimated tigers at an

alarming level. Since the medicinal qualities of lion parts are not

as readily accepted by consumers as those of tiger parts, lion bones

and organs are being passed off as tiger parts!

 

Although the government of Gujarat, where Gir is located, has swung

into action trying to save the lion, animal lovers and experts worry

that steps will be as futile as those taken to protect the tiger

whose numbers are now estimated at 1,800 - half the world's tiger

population. These majestic cats have been butchered in India's

forests and tiger reserves to feed a largely Chinese demand for

bones and penises, which are used literally to fool a gullible set

of men.

 

In India - where corrupt government officials have also hoodwinked

the media as well as men by conjuring tigers out of thin air with

the highly unreliable pug-mark method to count the animals - the

fate of lions will be as hopeless unless the top echelons of

political power make up their minds to fight poachers.

 

Poachers are backed by powerful lawyers who ensure that the guilty

are seldom punished. Just compare the number of tigers killed in the

past decade (one a day for many years, according to one reliable

estimate) with the number of arrests and convictions. The gap is

appalling.

 

Wildlife experts in India agree that " our protection system is in

tatters. Thousands of forest guard posts remain vacant in all

states, leaving our treasure troves of biodiversity open round the

clock to looters. " Most guards are old and the officers who lead

them have little idea of how to tackle poaching.

 

By contrast, poachers are in the big leagues with the latest

weapons, night glasses, sophisticated cars, state-of-the art mobile

phones and a battery of top lawyers to defend them.

 

Caught in this pathetic mismatch is the lion whose numbers are so

small that the animal could vanish from Gir in a matter of weeks.

And unlike the tiger - which can start breeding at the age of 3 and

produce several litters of three or four cubs in a lifetime - the

lion is not a prolific breeder. That makes its survival even more

precarious.

 

Obviously, urgent measures must be taken to save the tiger and the

lion. Among the first should be to revamp the entire system of

forest protection by filling vacant guard positions and hiring

professionals dedicated to animal welfare. Greater funds must be

allocated for this.

 

We must not forget that the tiger and the lion are part of India's

great wildlife heritage. If we allow them to become extinct, it may

well spell doom for not only a healthy ecological balance but also

for water and food.

 

B. Gautam writes for a leading Indian newspaper.

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