Big Cat Week (looking at tiger conservation)

Posted by Michael Starbuck on 3rd Oct 2014

This month marks our first trip to Kanha National Park and Tiger Reserve for one of our newest projects: 'The Great Tiger Project'.

Joined by our project developer Harriet, the trip has got off to a great start! Kanha is one of the best places in the world to see a wild tiger (over 100 reside there) and, as the inspiration for Rudyard Kipling's 'The Jungle Book', it is also one of the most famous parks in India. What's more there's a high chance of seeing sloth bears, leopards, monkeys, jackal, wild dog, gaur, and even the rare barasingha (or swamp deer) on any trip here.

This trip, plenty of tigers have already been seen, the accommodation has been a hit, and the volunteers have really been enjoying their time in the park and in the local communities just outside of it. Here follows a kind review from Andrea Walji, who is currently on the trip:

"This project is awesome – I feel like I am learning so much and am also involved in discussions and grass roots projects that really count. In the jeep back to the lodge today I felt blissful and so happy to be here. I'm sad that we are already over half way through. I think I will have to come in March again!

Below are some photo updates of the trip!

(volunteers enjoying their time in jungle lodge!)

(volunteers helping out in the local schools)

(Tigress courtesy of Emma de Heveningham)

(Tigress courtesy of Emma de Heveningham)

(Tigress courtesy of Emma de Heveningham)

(A trip to the local school)

(Members of the local Baiga tribe)

Thanks so much to Andrea Walji for her kind words and to Emma de Heveningham for her fantastic photos of the tigress!

We're really proud to offer Kanha as one of our trips, as the plight of tigers is one that is getting more desperate each day that passes. As Nat Geo Wild announced a mere 11 hours ago, tigers could have disappeared altogether in as little as 10 years: a shockingly low figure. To make matters even worse, we have lost over 92% (or 36,800) of our wild tiger population in just over forty years (source: World Wildlife Fund). Only an estimated 3,200 remain, and the numbers are declining daily. It is clear that they need our help now more than ever…

To help in the conservation of this most magnificent of cats, join one of our trips to Kanha, and your donations as a volunteer will be used to purchase camera traps for the monitoring of not only tigers, but all other animal species within the park.

As a volunteer, you will also become well versed in all aspects of tiger conservationwith the help of famed conservationists Latika and Nanda Rana and, through tracking and ID-ing, will help to monitor the park's population. You will also, as the pictures above show, be able to meet some members of the fascinating Baiga tribe, help out in the local schools, visit the plastic free village nearby, and, of course, go on plenty of game drives!

To read more about this amazing project, please click here.

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