Bengal tiger
In 2018, an adult Tigress named Avni or T1 was shot dead in the Yavatmal district of Maharashtra by a civilian hunter accompanied by a team of Forest Department officials. Indian forest officials labelled Avni as the most dangerous ‘man-eater’ in post-independent India. Even before Avni was killed, a score of campaigns by animal activists and wildlife lovers were launched to save the tigress. After Avni was shot dead, her killing was termed as a ‘cold-blooded murder’ by animal lovers. Dr. Sarita Subramaniam, Director, Earth Brigade Foundation and a Tiger activist had taken over as a petitioner for Avni in the High Court and Supreme Court. In her words, she filed several PILs and petitions to bring justice to Avni but as of July 2023, is still waiting for action. As the world observes International Tiger Day 2023 on July 29th, with an aim to conserve Tigers and India’s Project Tiger completes fifty years, Dr. Sarita Subramaniam takes us through the details of the controversial killing of ‘man-eater’ Tigress Avni or T1 and guides us on what we can do as ordinary citizens towards tiger conservation.
Only July 28, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Ministerial Meeting via video conferencing. He hailed India’s ‘Project Tiger’ which is aimed to promote the conservation of tigers. He said, “India has recently launched the international Big Cat Alliance for the conservation of 7 big cats on our planet. It is based on our learnings from Project Tiger, a pioneering conservation initiative. As a result of Project Tiger, 70 percent of the world`s tigers are found in India. We are also working on Project Lion and Project Dolphin.” The Prime Minister also said that India is one of the top 5 countries in the world in terms of installed renewable energy capacity. “We have also set a target of attaining net zero by 2070. India has consistently been at the forefront of taking action on biodiversity conservation, protection and enrichment.” This statement comes near the occasion of International Tiger Day 2023 falling on July 29th which aims to raise awareness about tiger extinction and the need to save them.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
