Is wildlife tourism helping or hindering the tigers in India?

Added 07/06/2010

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When a tiger was found dead in a popular Indian wildlife park, people thought the animal had been struck by a tourist safari vehicle. The incident sparked a new debate over whether wildlife tourism is damaging the tiger population in India.

A short while ago, the Indian National Tiger Conservation Authority tried to ban tiger wildlife tourism, which resulted in an uproar. The notion was soon scrapped. But wildlife tourism needs to be more closely monitored in order to protect the tiger population.

Tigers are more under threat from poachers and the destruction of their habitat than they are from tourists. With all these other threats on their doorstep, does wildlife tourism really affect the endangered cats?

Wildlife parks in India are small, and visitor numbers aren’t properly monitored. A ticket system limiting the number of visitors into the parks would reduce the amount of stress on the tigers.

Too many lodges outside the parks add to the swelling number of visitors. And there is currently no limit to the number of buildings that can be erected on the surrounding land.

Guides within the park need to be well trained in order to make the most of wildlife tourism. They should have a broad knowledge of the local flora and fauna, after all, tigers aren’t the only animals to see in India. India is home to leopards, wild dogs, jungle cats, sloth bears and a wild variety of birdlife.

Local people need to be more educated on the benefits of wildlife tourism. Visitors to the region bring money to the area, which can be used to provide street lighting or fresh water. The benefits of wildlife tourism are already apparent in Africa. In wildlife areas, local people in Africa benefit more from wildlife tourism than they do from land used for agriculture. Perhaps Indian wildlife parks could take a leaf out of their book.

Tigers are still on the endangered species list. Today there are now just 1,400 wild tigers on the sub continent, an area that is capable of sustaining 30,000.

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