TRYST WITH TIGER AND TIGER-LAND - LEGACY AND SURVIVAL OF TIGER

Book Code: 1111036579285

Major General (Dr.) Ashok Mehta

ABOUT THE BOOK

This book comes from an ardent explorer of nature and wildlife, with a passion for wildlife photography. He was brought up close to the forests. Further, his service in the Army provided a great ecosystem for wanderlust. He has been a prolific explorer of tigers in the wild, for over 50 years with innumerable forays, in several National Parks across India. While he has intensely explored Corbett and Rajaji National Parks, the others include Sariska, Kanha, Pench, Panna, Bandhavgarh, Dudhwa, Bandipore, Madumalai and Kaziranga. He is a keen and perceptive observer and photographer of tigers and other wildlife.

The author has been uniquely lucky in many of his safaris, with close and awe-inspiring sightings of tigers, enabling insightful pictures of the tiger’s legacy and life journey. His photographs in the book display the characteristic behaviour and dispositions of tigers in their natural, unencumbered way of life; and speak more than the words. The narratives and photographs are intertwined, and they unravel a complete mosaic. The author’s superb command of expression, and remarkable skill of catching the right moments of tiger’s behaviour in photographs, present a wholesome panorama of tiger’s life journey in the wild. The book has beautifully chronicled the life of tigers, including an elaborate exposition on a tigress & her two cubs. He has threadbare discussed the multiple impediments to the tigers’ future in India. Furthermore, he has dealt with the pertinent questions of why and how to save tigers and their ecosystem! He has highlighted the multiple benefits that accrue to India at the ground level; and the gains to the world at large, at macro global level, for mitigation of the Global Climate Crisis, by saving tigers and their ecosystem. The author has also ventured into the domain of tigers as the soft power of India. The book spawns innovative thinking, and new perspectives for sustainable management of tigers and their imperilled habitats. The author has shared insightful knowledge, intertwined with greatly interesting narratives and photographs. The book offers a very enjoyable and knowledgeable reading.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Major General (Dr.) Ashok Mehta is an Army veteran with long and distinguished service in the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers, and the renowned Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO). He is a Mechanical Engineering Graduate with a Masters, M.Tech. in Management & Systems from I.I.T. Delhi, and also a Ph.D. from I.I.T. Delhi. He believes in the life as a life-long learning journey! His writing skill is par excellence, and it paints lucid pictures in the minds of readers.

The author’s professional journey has been a multitude of accomplishments. He participated in the Indo-Pak war in Jammu & Kashmir, and served in a prestigious Armoured Formation of the Army, before joining DRDO. In DRDO, he worked on Research, Development and Production of Armoured Combat Vehicles systems, and helmed Projects and Programmes. Maj Gen Mehta also served as Director of the prestigious alma mater of Defence Technology Management, the Institute of Technology Management (erstwhile Defence Institute of Work Study), located at Landour Cantt, Mussoorie. He also had the distinction of serving in the Geo-strategic domain of the Higher Defence Management. Post superannuation, he headed a management institution for MBAs, under the Guru Govind Singh Indraprastha (GGSIP) University of the Government; and as the Founder Director of a high-tech organisation in Public Private Partnership protocol. All through, the author served with great distinction and aplomb. 

The author grew up close to forests and wildlife, and his Army service further provided a super ecosystem for their pursuit. For over half a century, he has passionately indulged in pursuit of tigers and other wildlife, in numerous National Parks, across India. It would be correct to say that he has spent a lifetime in exploration of tigers and other wildlife. He is a conservationist to the core; and avidly pursues the wildlife photography, as a hobby. The author has shared his rich assimilated knowledge, and excellent photographs, in the book. He is a perceptive and venturesome photographer. The narratives and photographs are closely interlinked. In keeping with his propensity of strategic thinking, the author has generated some macro perspectives and out-of-the-box ideas on tigers’ soft power, and for sustainable conservation of tigers and their imperilled habitats, in India.

CONTENTS

FOREWORD
By Dr. Karan Singh…………………………………………….....6

CALL OF THE TIGER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
•  ALLURE OF NATURE AND TIGERLAND
•  TIGER BIGGER THAN LIFE
•  NATURE'S BOUNTY & CHARGE OF INFURIATED
   TIGER
•  NATURE THE PANACEA
•  DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

STRIPED KING OF THE WILD – TIGER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
•  KNOW THE TIGER
•  TIGER'S FINE FACULTIES

TIGER THE SUPER PREDATOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …38
•  TIGER AN ENDOWED HUNTER
•  TIGER'S PREY ANIMALS

TIGER'S REPRODUCTION & SOCIALISATION. . . . . . . . .  52
•  TIGER'S BREEDING IN THE WILD
•  TURN OVER OF TIGERS
•  JOURNEY OF A MALE TIGER
•  TIGER THE LORD OF TERRITORY
•  TIGER NO MORE SOLITARY & NOCTURNAL ANIMAL
•  INJURED TIGERS IN THE WILD

LEGACY OF A TIGER IN THE WILD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
•  SOUJORN WITH A TIGER FAMILY
•  TIGER AND CUBS BONDING

TIGER'S CHALLENGED SURVIVAL IN THE WILD. . . . . . .82
•  TIGER POPULATION AND HABITAT MISMATCH
•  ENCROACHMENTS BY HUMAN HABITATIONS
•  HUMAN DISTURBANCE DISTRESS
•  POACHING AND TRADE

WHY SAVE TIGERS IN THE WILD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
•  TIGERS & TIGERLAND SCENARIO
•  TIGER' S  HABITAT  MITIGATOR  OF  CLIMATE  CRISIS
•  TIGER INSPIRED ECOTOURISM & SOCIETAL
    DEVELOPMENT

TIGER THE SOFT POWER OF INDIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
•  HARNESSING TIGER'S SOFT POWER
•  SUSTAINABILITY OF TIGER'S HABITAT & SOFT
   POWER
•  THE WAY FORWARD

•  SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 113
•  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 114