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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Thirty Two: On Safari -- expressing the essence of nature > Tiger traffic, Ranthambore National Park, India, 2008
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23-MAR-2008

Tiger traffic, Ranthambore National Park, India, 2008

The tiger in the preceding images continued to walk down the road in front of us for several minutes. At least five vehicles surrounded her at one point. She never looked up as she vanished into the bush just around this curve. There are no secrets in Ranthambore. Once a tiger is sighted, the word is spread, and every safari truck within miles converges on the spot as quickly as they can.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/250s f/5.6 at 52.6mm iso100 full exif

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Phil Douglis06-May-2008 19:05
This image conveys, in microcosm, the status of the tiger in India today. It is exists at and for the pleasure of the tourist. If not for tourism, this tiger, and indeed, all tigers, would have long since vanished forever.
Tim May06-May-2008 18:28
Yet, she is surrounded by her future. As you say, tourism, in its way is keeping the tiger alive.
Phil Douglis25-Apr-2008 02:02
Good point, Alina. In this case, the tiger has abandoned the hunt for the time being. Yet she has the freedom to leave the road and resume the hunt at any time. In a general sense, you are right about the questionable future. The tiger reserves are shrinking. Poaching is difficult to stop. India's huge population needs the space that tiger reserves now use. Yet it is the presence of the tiger that draws tourists to India, and tourists help the economy, which in turn should help the people, as well as the tiger. The tiger population in India continues to shrink. In 1900, India had 40,000 tigers. In 1972, the last official census, there were less than 2,000 left. Current estimates are around 3,000, so the tiger, largely because of tourism, seems to be holding its own. But it is still an endangered species.
Alina24-Apr-2008 13:32
I like this shot because it shows that the tiger doesn’t have much space to hunt. His future is questionable.
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