John Varty & Tiger Canyon

[sanjay]

Newsletter of John Varty received on 09-07-2015, yesterday

 

Hello Friends

When I started the Tiger Project in 2000, scientist were extremely critical of the project because I was not obeying the 9 sub species of Tigers listed. In other words their argument was I should be pursuing the Bengal OR the Siberian Tiger sub species, not both.

However, the evidence for subspecies was flimsy to say the least. My instincts told me that all tigers were the same, just with local differences. A tiger in Siberia had a larger body because this is more efficient in colder climates. Tigers in the forest were smaller and had darker coats because this works better in the humid, hot forests of Central Asia.

In my opinion, we should be spending less time on arguing about sub species and more time on finding land, fencing it, stocking with suitable prey and making the tiger accessible to a growing band of universal, digital photographers.

Like we had done with the leopard at Londolozi, we could use the tiger to change the land use systems and create wealth in rural areas.

If this could be achieved then this would be the first step in saving the wild tiger.

The other crucial decision I took in 2000, was not to try to do the project in Asia. In Asia a tiger competes with over 100 human beings per square kilometer (at Tiger Canyons a tiger competes with sheep and 2 human being per square kilometer).

Therefore to do an ex-situ conservation project in South Africa has proved to be correct and defining.

Below are some of the questions that have been answered:

1. Tigers will not adapt to African parasites (No tiger has been lost to an African parasite).

2. Tigers will not be able to hunt African prey (Tigress Julie successfully hunted 14 African species in her lifetime).

3. Tourists will not travel to Africa to view and photograph a tiger (68 nationalities have visited Tiger Canyons and this is growing).

4. The tiger has no place in the African ecosystem (it was never our intention to place the Tiger in an open ecosystem. The Tiger is inside fenced areas which have been reclaimed from bankrupt sheep and goat farms).

5. The tiger was never historically in Africa. (A group of scientists at Wits University are confident the tiger was in Africa and went extinct. In time they claim they will prove this fact).

Opportunities missed:

Only the province of the Free State had the vision to allow the ex situ conservation tiger project. Other provinces of Kwazulu, Eastern and Northern Cape outlawed the project.

I respectively suggest the above provinces should put corruption aside and reconsider their decision.

The province of the Free State has greatly benefited in the field of job creation, change of land use and rural development via the tiger.

I call on the South African National Parks to consider a large national park which accommodates lion, leopard, cheetah and tiger.

No one individual, organization or government has had the vision to champion the tiger cause.

While we spend billions of dollars daily on military, war and destruction of our planet, a coordinated tiger project could protect forests, river systems, and whole landscapes. This protection would translate into rural wealth, education, tourism, conservation and upliftment.

Therefore it is with great satisfaction that I read a scientific paper which is both logical, practical and workable.

I congratulate the scientists from Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin for a valuable contribution to Tiger conservation. Reply