About Us

The Youth Tiger Ambassadors of India

The two Youth Tiger Ambassadors of India - Anusha Shankar (Right) and Devanshu Sood (Left)

The Youth Ambassadors took part in the International Youth Tiger Summit held at Vladivostok from the 18th to the 24th of November, 2010,  as the delegates and ambassadors of the youth of India. They also addressed the International Heads of Government Summit on Tiger Conservation held at St. Petersburg, Russia in parallel with our summit from the 21st till the 24th of November, 2010, addressing the Prime Ministers of Russia, China, Nepal, Laos and Bangladesh on behalf of the other delegates at the summit and the youth of the world.


Now back in India the two Youth Tiger Ambassadors will engage the youth of India in tiger conservation efforts, by raising awareness about the plight of the tiger and the need to ave and conserve this majestic species and also by actively involving the youth of India in tiger conservation efforts.


Together we will and can save the tiger.


Roar !!!!!!!!!


About the two Youth Tiger Ambassadors:

Anusha Shankar

The animal world has always fascinated me. I decided, long ago, to pursue this passion professionally. As a result, I am now in the final year of a Master’s degree in Ecology and Environmental Sciences at Pondicherry after a Bachelor’s degree in Zoology.

I was a volunteer at ‘The Bengal Tiger - Fourth Consultation’ organized by Sanctuary Asia Magazine and South Indian Chamber of Commerce, Chennai in 2009. This gave me a clear insight into the socio-political implications of what I had been learning about biodiversity conservation from a purely wildlife perspective.

The main problems tigers face are not just poisoning by irate villagers, poaching for skin and teeth, and habitat destruction and fragmentation, but a dearth of public knowledge of their behavior, habitat and food preferences. Sadly, the idea that ‘that forest is kept for the tiger, why does it come out to my home and eat my cattle’ is still pervasive.

On many occasions one hears of these villagers harming animals. As a volunteer at the Wildlife Trust of India’s Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation near Kaziranga, I witnessed the effects of some of these gruesome and inhumane attacks on animals and been a part of their rehabilitation. I have observed an operation on a Royal Bengal Tiger whose wounds became infested with maggots and how he was cared for at the centre. I have watched and assisted in the effective rehabilitation of other animals (primarily a Hoolock gibbon) that were rescued, treated and released into the wild again. Thus, I strongly feel that all hope is not lost. Human participation in Wildlife conservation is now inescapable. We cannot just blindly hope that Nature will indefinitely recover from the blows we have dealt her. But with careful management and heightened awareness, large-scale mitigation of past and current destruction is an achievable goal.

I plan to use videos and articles; continue using photographs and speaking to everyone who listens (and some who don’t), about the literally breathtaking beauty of the national animal of India, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. I think innovation is the key to raising awareness. Creativity and uniqueness attract the most attention. Thus, my plan would be to make use of a number of media simultaneously. Another point I think I would make use of is that the youth will bring the most change. So those under the age of 30 would be my critical target group. Puppet shows to young children, lively plays/movies to more discerning audiences, television campaigns, radio talks, bookmarks, cards, educated trips to tiger-lands. Press meets where the general public is given time to express their opinions in an organized fashion; popularizing the screening of relevant documentaries in schools and colleges; talking to people repeatedly; speaking to government officials actually involved in decision-making. I intend to employ these strategies, among others I will develop, to raise awareness on tiger conservation in India.

There is a burning need to protect the charismatic big cats and their remaining habitats. In this endeavor, the entire food chain and the ecosystem would get preserved. This is critical for saving the tiger, as it depends on herbivores. Herbivores depend on plants, which in turn depend on insects for pollination, and animals, microbes, and even fungi for enriching the soil. This integrated web cannot by fragmented into its individual components; looking at the entire picture is the key to conservation.

The cliché of imagining the world without this large cat is entirely apt – such a future would be insipid and terrible. Though it is a steep climb, there is hope to save the miraculous and astounding diversity on this planet. I intend to help.

Devanshu Sood 

The summer of 2005 changed me forever. The last tiger of Sariska breathed its last...wanted by many, mourned by some, yet saved by none. The news spread like wildfire and in the hue and cry that ensued and the turmoil that followed, I, along with Madhu ma’am and others at The Shri Ram School, and Sanctuary Asia’s Kids for Tigers, pledged to take action to stem the drastic decline in the numbers of the Royal Bengal Tiger in India. From being a member of the Environment Club which went for study tours of reclaimed mines, bio-diversity parks and bird watching, I became a member of the core team, the Junior Tiger Task Force, created in our school. At the age of nine this sounded awesome but the task it hoped to accomplish was even more awesome and uphill. But we got to work, undaunted by the fact that the challenge we were taking up was much bigger than us.

The very first thing our JTTF understood was that the tiger needed some inviolate spaces, away from poachers, agriculture, industry and even tourism. If such source populations could be safe, the tiger would survive, if not, it would surely die. We also understood the need for forest corridors, buffers and ecologically stable core areas.

  

Our Junior Tiger Task Force zeroed in on Ranthambhore National Park which faced the same grim fate as Sariska. The proximity of both the parks made Ranthambhore a plum pick for the poachers of Sariska whose taps had now run dry. We knew action was needed and urgently. With only 11 to 15 tigers left in the park we did not have the luxury of time....

Thus began my tryst with the tiger. Now, as a student in Class XI at The Shri Ram School, Moulsari, DLF Phase III, when I look back at the last few years I have spent traversing through Ranthambhore National park, I realise that unmitigated passion and commitment was all that we had to begin with. And that was all that we needed. As part of the core group I met the Mogiyas, the nomadic hunting tribe responsible for most of the poaching in Ranthambhore, several times. It took innumerable visits and a lot of effort to convince them that what they were doing to the tiger and the ecosystem was wrong. It was a difficult task to talk to the reclusive Mogiyas, leave alone convince them about the dastardliness of their acts. I think our innocence and concern persuaded them. They realised our genuineness and good intentions when the poachers were sent to jail and we fulfiled our promise to take care of their families. We immediately provided their women and children with alternate livelihood options and offered free medical schemes for them, the cost of which was borne by us. Training was given to Mogiya women for embroidering beautiful ethnic bed covers that are sold to tourists in Ranthambhore and also at our school. Free solar lamps were given to them , we helped educate Mogiya children, and tried to find dignified livelihoods for adults. Today thirty-four families have been reformed due to our efforts, the tiger populations have built up again, and poaching is considerably curtailed.

Being a part of this tiger conservation programme has been a life-changing experience. My personal interaction with the poachers’ families and other Mogiyas, the fund raising for them, meeting with eminent environmentalists, politicians, journalists and event organisers, participation in Sanctuary’s First and Fifth National Bengal Tiger Consultations (on Tiger Conservation) at The Shri Ram School, Vasant Vihar and at Teen Murti Bhavan, respectively, presenting the NDTV signature campaign to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to save the tiger, carrying out protest marches, conducting leaflet campaigns to enhance awareness and arguing with local and central authorities to allow us to carry out our activities, have all taught valuable lessons. I have learnt a lot but lamented little, at seeing the plight of our tribals/rural poor and the degradation of our environment, because I believe that all is not lost yet.

I have been awarded the iCongo ‘Karamveer Chakra’ in 2009 for my contribution to the cause of the tiger, but more than such awards it is the hope in my heart and faith in the belief that the tiger shall not burn out, but that it shall burn bright again that keeps me going! Being a part of this programme has enabled me to be part of a change, a change that may be slow in the coming but one which is sure. When we empower people like the Mogiyas, we can not only save the tiger but also the fragile environment that supports it from further degradation. The harmony in nature rests on the delicate balance that exists in our ecology. Hence, efforts to save even one species from extinction lead to the prevention of deforestation, environmental pollution, climate change and global warming that are amongst the major problems we face today.

I will continue to spread awareness about the cause of the tiger in various ways, especially among the youth, as I believe that the tiger has a future. I feel that the youth are the future of the tiger, as they are the ones who have the energy and will to change things. They are the ones who can motivate others and influence policies and decision-making. For me, saving the tiger means more than just saving the cat. . It means protecting the entire ecosystem with all its diverse plants and animals, which in turn  helps ensure our water security.  Scientists have also now confirmed that restoring such forested ecosystems helps in combating climate change because natural ecosystems are the most effective carbon sequestration and storage infrastructures on land.

Yes the tiger is a beautiful animal and yes its forests are key to the survival of millions, but there is another reason that the rest of my life will be dedicated to saving the tiger – the tiger represents the very soul of nature and I can think of no greater way to repay the gift of life given with which I was born.