Imagine being on a boat with Richard Parker from Life of Pi. For the uninitiated, don’t let the innocuous name catch you off guard. Richard Parker is a Bengal tiger that has not eaten in days and most likely, mad at people for keeping it in a cage for months. Pi, rightfully, fears, respects, and learns to co-exist with the majestic creature in the fantasy tale. In our world, if we let the Tiger ironically “wander off into the woods” the metaphorical boat will sink and take entire ecosystems down with it.
In reality, the life of a Tiger in the wild is anything but magical. In the last 100 years, we’ve wiped out over 97% of the population and now, little over 3200 Tigers remain in the wild. We hunted them for the sport, their fur, and for the faux medicinal properties among other fantastically stupid reasons. It’s way past the time we stopped and now we have to do everything in our power to stop them going extinct.
The Wild Tiger Foundation
The Wild Tiger Foundation is an NGO started by Impiger’s own Suprej and 3 of his class mates to do exactly that. The foundation’s main goal is to conserve the Tiger’s habitat by raising funds and creating awareness.
The Times of India, The Hindu and a number of other news outlets have published the origin story of Wild Tiger Foundation.
Unlike most NGO’s , WTF aims to be enablers and influencers for raising funds through various events, merchandizes, encouraging other corporate's, friends and business to donate to the cause, Gala dinner experiences, Ride for Tigers (Biking related experience), wildlife art & portrait auctions, auction of exclusive time with sports personalities / celebrities & bespoke Tiger Tours.
WTF has tied up with WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society), an NGO with a proven track record and special expertise on Tigers. They bring in decades of research and science based solutions to Wildlife conservation.
What They Will Be Doing
The primary focus will be the conservation of Tigers and their habitats within the state of Kerala and TN, specifically Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWLS) and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve and all funds will be deployed only within the three southern Indian states namely Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
The funds will be used for
- Mitigation of human – Tiger conflict by assisting the families affected
- Support for voluntary resettlement of families
- Building conservation awareness
Impiger’s role
Impiger will be donating to the NGO on a monthly basis to assist their campaign to save the Tigers. Apart from that, a number of employees have already signed up as volunteers to assist officials in a number of tasks. More employees are always welcome and needed to help protect people and tigers,
What Can You Do:
Follow them Facebook to get regular updates and learn how and what you can do to help. Please spread the word about The Wild Tiger Foundation and its initiatives to your friends and family. Any and all help we get will be greatly beneficial for protecting the charismatic megafauna.
