WILD TIGERS OF INDIA STORY

I don't know about you but of all the big animals you see on safari, the one that really fascinates me is the Tiger!

They're big, they're beautiful... and when you think about it, they're one most popular animals in the world. They can weigh up to 720 Lbs, and stretch out to 6 feet long. They can easily bring down prey such as deer and can eat up to 60 Lbs of meat in one night!

As luck would have it, one of the best places in the world to see wild Tigers is India - and that's where I am. . They have over 30 tiger reserves here and a handful of National Parks that allow tourists in to see the big cats.

Today we're in Rathambore National Park... It's one of the biggest in Nothern India.

Our guide, B.L., is an expert tracker but can't promise we'll actually see a tiger. In this park there are only 34 tigers. And they live in an area that is over 151 square miles in size.

They have two ways to find the cats and the first is by reading their tracks or footprints...

B.L. The tracks we can tell sex and etc... and then we have warning sounds...

We looked and looked all morning - and despite finding some promising tiger tracks, the only tiger we saw was a cutout replica given to us as a joke by the driver... B.L. said we would have to try again after lunch.

BILL ON CAMERA

One of the reasons why India has so many tiger preserves is because Tigers are a very close to going extinct. The global population of tigers in the wild is estimated to be less than 4000, down from around 100,000 at the start of the 20th century. The combined effects of humans moving into their habitat, along with worldwide desire for Tiger skins and body parts have dramatically reduced their numbers.

Two ways the Indian Government has been able to stabilize the number of Tigers is by creating tiger sanctuaries and developing tiger tourism. With Rothambore's 34 Tigers now supporting over 100 hotels and untold numbers of tour guides, drivers, and others - That way, everyone has a stake in keeping the tigers alive.




Later in the afternoon, we're joined by a group of french tourists, and taken to a different area of the park....

It's filled with all sorts of wildlife...Including black face monkeys and these huge deers called Sambar Deers. We also caught sight of an Eagle, some crocodiles, and this really odd creature called a blue bull.

Buts as cool as all these animals are, nobody wants to go home without seeing the real prize...

About an Hour into our safari, B.L. stopped the jeep after hearing some strange sounds.

Our tiger was close, but elluded being seen.

Bill: well we didn't see it so we're going back to our original plan.


At a rest stop, B.L. went off to talk to some of the soldiers that guard the park. From them he was able to get some solid information on the location of a tiger...

"I got a hot tip."

We headed up the road to where the soldiers said we would find a tiger. But by the time we got there... it was obvious we weren't the only ones who got the information --

We all sat around staring at each other for awhile... then somebody made a move and it was follow the leader

within a matter of minutes, it was a full batalion of tourist vehicles playing follow the leader until at long last, we could all see a wild tiger...

It was one of the older females but very impressive. Unfortunately, she didn't seem as enthusiastic to see us as we were to see her...

She tried to move away.... but with so many people anxious to get a good picture, It was like an army of paparazi stalking a movie celebrity.

Despite all the chaos, I have to say it was really cool seeing a real tiger.


BILL ON CAMERA

Ok now as you might imagine, there are some people who are demanding an end to tourism in the tiger preserves - allowing the tigers to live a more natural life. But on the other hand, if the tourism stopped and the local people couldn't earn money from it, they would most likely return to poaching the tigers and killing them.

So that brings me to the question of the day. If you were in charge of protecting the tigers of India, what would you do? Would you let the tourism continue? Or would you shut it down and try to find another way to save the tigers? Let me know what your plan would be in the comment section, below.....

Tigers are also called Big Cats in some places. Tigers are cool no matter what you call them.