SAVE TIGERS! Sponsored Walk for WWF-UK

Hello again.

A quick one again! This time it is about the sponsored walk I am leading, with my family, in aid of the Tiger, for the World Wildlife Fund UK. Most of the walks are being done tomorrow (Sunday) but I have arranged to do mine today, as on Sundays I am at church - all day (as I am at the household also for lunch). It will be in Richmond Park, where we have been going quite often (most days) to walk with our son Tom, who is recovering from a mental breakdown. Walking is good, totally free therapy. I have a few sponsors from my sister's family and J., plus ourselves. There is not time to ask other people, and my friends amaong the church members prefer to give to the church's projects.

I have for many years been a strong supporter of tigers (in the wild) - that is why I'm called "Tigey" on this blog! This year, WWF-UK is putting the proceeds from its sponsored walk towards helping and conserving tigers, while previously the money has gone to snow leopards (which I also admire and "love"), seals, elephants, rhinos, etc. TIGERS are now EXTREMELY RARE - an ENDANGERED SPECIES. There are only about 5,000 of them left wild in the world. They are situated in South East Asia (India, China and Sumatra) plus Russia - the Amur Peninsula (this sub-species is the Siberian or Amur tiger). Most tigers live in India - the Royal Bengal Tiger. Those in Russia Indo China and Sumatra are much more endangered. All are under threat from poachers, who trade them for traditional medicine in the far East, and also sell them in the illegal pet trade, to private zoos. There is still a trade in their skins, also is illegal. The tiger rugs and trophy heads of old are very "non-PC".

Each tiger has its own individual skin pattern and facial markings. Its pugmarks (paw prints) are individually different - just like our fingerprints. Tigers live in small family groups - unlike lions which have "prides" (large social groups). The male usually lives alone; however, we now know that some males stay with the female and cubs, or interact with them for a while (see recent National Geographic films and BBC TV Wildlife Unit films). They stalk their prey (mostly deer and other hoofed animals, sometimes monkeys) and then pounce - they are not long-distance, fast runners (like the cheetah). Their wonderful markings and their huge size makes them truly magnificent - the real monarch of the beasts, to me! I have visited 2 national parks in India, where I have seen tigers in the wild - I have filmed them, and given talks to groups in the UK about tigers and conservation, plus Indian villages and Delhi (as I experienced it all). I would be very keen to go to another part where tigers live. I went to central India, Madhya Pradesh: there I visited the "Kipling Country" reserve - where the original Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling was set. The parks were: the Kanha National Park (Kipling country) and Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve.

So today, I am recalling that visit in November, 2002 - when I had the tour of my lifetime (that too was sponsored - I raised about £1,500). I am trying to give something back to the tigers, which tryly made my heart lift when I saw them! We rode elephants to get closer to them, after driving nearby in jeeps. We sometimes saw a tiger direct from the jeep. I never saw any cubs, thoughs some were in the forests I went to. My colleagues on the trip were luckier in that respect. I still remember the fantastic scenery, early sunrise and sunset in the Indian jungle. God's world is truly marvellous - do not let humankind spoil it...! Please support the work of WWF-UK, IFAW and other worldwide nature charities. We need our world to stay intact for future generations to enjoy and get relief from life's stresses - also for the animals themselves.

God bless - love and peace,

Tigey