Indian Celebs and ‘Year of Tiger’

India has launched what is largely considered its biggest ever pro-tiger campaign, broadcasting the slogan “Just 1,411 left. You can make a difference,” on TV, Facebook and YouTube.

In addition, the Indian World Wildlife Fund has leveraged the celebrity support of Indian cricket and football captains, leading to almost 100,000 pledges of support online.

Reuters spoke with Diwakar Sharma, Associate Director of the Species Conservation Program at WWF India, who said “The response has been overwhelming.” Big-name players involved in the campaign include India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (pictured) and top footballer Bhaichung Bhutia.

But why is this Valentine’s Day extra special? February 14th, 2010 starts off the Chinese ‘Year of the Tiger’. Thirteen countries have pledged to double their tiger populations by the year 2022, the next Year of the Tiger. According to National Geographic, this agreement was made between representatives of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, and Vietnam in late January.

To start off the pledge, heads of state will discuss plans in Vladivostok in September. Also in the mix is an international donor conference for later this year.

Unfortunately, India fears that poachers and smugglers will also attempt to capitalize on the ‘Year of the Tiger’ label, and demand for tiger parts may actually increase this year.

Photo on homepage: Michael Nichols for National Geographic.

For more, please visit:
National Geographic: Thirteen countries pledge to repopulate world’s wild tigers
Reuters: India celebrities add glitz to tiger conservation
Facebook page: Stripey the Cub (official facebook page for Save Our Tigers)
YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/saveourtigers

You can also visit www.saveourtigers.com.

They even have a page about how you can help.

Lastly, you can check out our previous Sapna article: TIGERS: GOING EXTINCT?

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—MARIAM KAMAL