Nagpur: A majestic feline could soon face bullets. The Forest Department has declared a sub-adult tigress as “menacing” and “man-eater.” The Foresters, craving to get rid of the ‘dangerous’ big cat, have issued ‘shoot-at-sight’ orders. But a PIL in the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court to save the tigress forced the Forest men to put on hold their “mission kill.” Now, to the delight of the ‘trigger happy’ Forest officials, even the High Court too has favoured the Forest men and ordered bullets to get rid of the ‘man-eater’ tigress.
Very unfortunate. The big cat who is born to kill, not as hobby or quest for blood, but for sustenance is being haunted for no fault of her. The “Vengeance is ours.” “The thirst for vengeance is among the strongest of human emotions.” Thus said a scholar.
The T.I.G.E.R.
Terror. Invincible. Graceful. Electrifying. Ruthless. (T.I.G.E.R). The name is enough to send chill down the spine. The symbol of brutal power. The Lord of the Jungle. National Animal of India. The most hunting treasure for ‘Royal Raj’ and the ‘Maharajas’ in pre-Independence era. And of course the ‘bread and butter’ for poachers who hunt the big cat for smugglers and other ‘distinguished’ souls who cherish to adorn their homes with the ‘prized’ possession. The smugglers export many vital parts of a hunted tiger or tigress to many countries in general and China in particular for hefty sums. The Chinese are known to produce a number of medicines for different ailments especially the ‘potent’ drug for enhancing sexual strength. And this is one of the vital ingredients for which the killing of tigers is rampant in India.
TERROR: The terror is itself gripped by the terror. The ferocious feline is fast turning an easy prey. The hunter is being hunted. And the predator is much more deadlier species – the humans.
INVINCIBLE: Racing against the race, the powerful national animal is fast turning invisible. Courtesy the poachers, crooked and corrupt Forest officials, rogue politicians, and the unmindful butchery of forest cover.
GRACEFUL: Yes graceful. But on the walls of a rascal rich. ‘Graceful’ in the dirty bags of poachers, smugglers, businessmen, and the scoundrels on whose wishes the graceful lord of the jungle is being eliminated.
ELECTRIFYING: But ‘powerless.’ Dark future. No one to guide to the green jungles with plentiful of preys, clean water and peaceful habitat.
RUTHLESS: No! ‘Toothless.’ Begging for mercy. No ferocious. It is maimed. The ruthless is the other species – humans.
The man-animal conflict that was not too far off has surfaced with a tinge of vengeance.
Humans must learn, and learn fast, to co-exist with the precious wildlife. Or else there will be only wild humans on this planet and not the wild species. The big cats do not attack humans unprovoked, unless facing a threat. Nobody would deny that humans kill the big cats in enormous numbers, compared with how often they kill us.
