For many years historian and screenwriter Geoffrey C. Ward has been visiting the Indian jungles, drawn by their beauty and the mystery and power of the great endangered predator that has always ruled them--the tiger. In this intensely personal book, he combines history, biography and first-hand reporting to evoke the special appeal of India's forests and describes encounters with some of the 'tiger-wallahs' who have struggled against overwhelming odds to save the species from extinction. The remarkable tiger-wallahs covered here are Jim Corbett, the great destroyer of maneaters, who became a still greater conservationist; Billy Arjan Singh, the Spartan farmer who despises hunters and hunting, tried to return a tigress to the wild, and, all alone, carved out a national park; Fateh Singh Rathore, the uninhibited Rajput who cheerfully risked his life defending the jungles in his charge; and Valmik Thapar, the son of New Delhi intellectuals, who began as Fateh's disciple, became an authority in his own right, and now champions a new kind of conservation that may provide the tiger's only hope. An epilogue especially written for this edition brings the story of the tiger and its champions up to date. This evocative and well-illustrated book about a magnificent animal and its ablest defenders, one of the first to document the conflicts that plague efforts to save the species, will interest conservationists, ecologists and wildlife enthusiasts and appeal to a wide general readership.

Contributed articles on tigers of India.

Today ten times more tigers live in captivity than survive in the wild. For over five decades, K. Ullas Karanth has been engaged in the struggle to bring wild tigers back from the brink in India, their last remaining wild stronghold. He tells the story of the tiger itself—its incredible biology, its critical role in shaping natural ecosystems of Asia, and the unique place it holds in our collective imagination. Among Tigers is the story of how we wound up with fewer than 5,000 wild tigers, and how, with focused efforts we can grow that population ten times or more in a few decades. In doing so, we would bring not only the world's largest and most beloved feline back from the brink, but also save countless other species that share the tigers habitats from the freezing forests of Siberia to the tropics of India. Karanth shares the adventurous real-life story of his quest to save a species and, along the way, the hopeful realization that tiger conservation is a battle that can be won. Ultimately, the book is a roadmap showing us how to not only to save the greatest of great cats, but to bring it roaring back at numbers never before seen in our lifetimes.

Get ready for an adrenalin-packed adventure across the tiger reserves of Madhya Pradesh, as the young author passionately trails the striped beauty in its natural habitat. The author’s vivid account of his encounters in the wilderness will magically transport you to the jungles of Central India. Out in the jungles, you are sure to hear the calls of the sambars and cheetals and feel the stealthy movements of the tigers and leopards waiting to prey upon their unsuspecting victims. Amidst all the action and thrill, you will also discover astonishing facts about the big cat and its unique behavior in the wild and understand the need to save our glorious tigers from vanishing into oblivion.

From the author of The Soul of an Octopus and bestselling memoir The Good Good Pig, a book that earned Sy Montgomery her status as one of the most celebrated wildlife writers of our time, Spell of the Tiger brings readers to the Sundarbans, a vast tangle of mangrove swamp and tidal delta that lies between India and Bangladesh. It is the only spot on earth where tigers routinely eat people—swimming silently behind small boats at night to drag away fishermen, snatching honey collectors and woodcutters from the forest. But, unlike in other parts of Asia where tigers are rapidly being hunted to extinction, tigers in the Sundarbans are revered. With the skill of a naturalist and the spirit of a mystic, Montgomery reveals the delicate balance of Sundarbans life, explores the mix of worship and fear that offers tigers unique protection there, and unlocks some surprising answers about why people at risk of becoming prey might consider their predator a god.

Fateh Singh Rathore devoted the better part of his life to making Ranthambhore National Park a safe haven for the tiger population to live and grow in. He was intolerant of red tape and led a tireless crusade against poachers. Globally respected for his work, he was unpopular with Indian forest officials whenever he sought to point out anything that went wrong or the falling tiger numbers. In such cases, the official reaction was always denial—in other national parks such as Sariska or Panna, this kind of denial has led to a near wipeout of the entire tiger population. Fateh survived a bid on his life, fought stiff resistance from a powerful lobby of bureaucrats, and was even barred entry into his beloved national park, all because he would not give up his fight to save the tigers. Yet, against all odds, he remained an eminently upright man, admired by Rajiv Gandhi, Bill Clinton, Amitabh Bachchan, and wildlife activists like Valmik Thapar. Deeply loyal to his friends, Fateh remained an unconventional family man, a gifted amateur actor and a lover of the good life. Soonoo Taraporewala’s insightful biography, based on her years of association with this indomitable ‘tiger warrior’, not only brings alive Fateh Singh Rathore’s extraordinary legacy but also opens up wider questions about wildlife conservation in India.

The Tiger S Enduring Appeal Has Generated A Vast Body Of Literature. This Anthology, Compiled From Non-Fiction Sources By Tiger Scientist And Conservationist K. Ullas Karanth, Opens Up A Captivating World Of Rich Descriptions, Deeply Felt Personal Experiences And Serious Reflections By Hunters, Amateur Naturalists And Wildlife Scientists Who Encountered This Most Charismatic Of All Animal Species. The First Section Of The Book Explores Tiger Hunting And Old-Style Natural History, And Revives Some Of The Earliest Essays On The Tiger. Historian Mahesh Rangarajan S Overview Of The Pre-Colonial And Colonial Periods, When Ruthless Hunting Of Tigers Was The Dominant Social Ethos, Sets The Stage For English Forester C.E.M. Russell S Narration Of Tiger Hunting In Mysore, Published In 1900. Then Follow Tales By Hunter-Naturalists Dunbar Brander, Fred Champion, Kenneth Anderson, William Bazé And Arthur Locke. The Descriptions By More Recent And Less Justifiably Bloodthirsty Hunters, Such As Kesri Singh, A Game Manager In Princely India, And Jack Denton Scott, An American Safari Hunter, Provide Grim Examples Of The Slaughter Of Tigers. The Second Section Covers The Post-Colonial Period. This Was The Era When A New Natural History , Driven By The Sheer Joy Of Watching Tigers, Emerged Leading To The First Steps To Save This Magnificent Cat From The Brink Of Extinction. Essays By Forest Managers Such As A. Hoogerwerf, Kailash Sankhala And Vladimir Troinin, Who Were Fascinated By The Tiger, Are Complemented By The Writings Of Perceptive Amateur Naturalists Such As E.P. Gee, Arjan Singh And Valmik Thapar. In The Last Section The Reader Steps Into The World Of Modern Tiger Science And Conservation. An Account Of The First-Ever Scientific Study Of Tigers By George Schaller Is Followed By The Observations Of Other Biologists, Such As John Seidensticker, Melvin Sunquist, Dale Miquelle And John Goodrich, Who Followed In Schaller S Footsteps And Generated New Insights Into Tiger Ecology And Behaviour. The Concluding Essay, By Naturalist-Historian Geoffrey Ward, Offers A Lucid Overview Of Current Tiger Conservation Issues. With Its Judicious Blend Of Adventure, Natural History And Tiger Science, This Anthology Will Appeal To Wildlife Enthusiasts As Well As Serious Conservationists.