I dont have the heart to blame anyone. I don't want to. I don't care frankly. All I know is, she's dead. And it's a human's fault. Nothing can be more shameful than humans mindless, thoughtlessly, and senselessly killing the very animal that is the global face of conservation and protection today. The very species that epitomizes wilderness. We killed her. And those 3 absolutely clueless cubs are left with no one to feed them, teach them, nurture them, correct them, and raise them... No one to love them. We killed their mother.
I don't care which minister's which son was in which vehicle when it dashed against her.. All I care about is, that whoever did it, is still alive. And Jhurjhura.. who was by all means and from all angles, a much much better "person" than this freak who killed her, had to pay with her life..
In one shot, he destroyed not one, but 4 Tigers. The 3 young cubs will most probably be taken to a zoo, that too, IF they survive the loss. They don't know how to fend for themselves in the wild. They would have grown up to be gorgeous and confident Tigers.. if we hadn't rammed into their mother.
I don't even know if it's because of the vehicle, or if there was a vehicle in the first place. It could very well be food poisoning considering the internal injuries they found during the post mortem. Point is, it wasn't some natural cause that killed her. A Tigress like Jhurjhura, doesn't just develop something one day and die of it. No. Not possible.
I can imagine a car coming at her so fast, and I can imagine her, standing her ground to protect the cubs from this ridiculous machine and the people behind it. I can imagine her insides shake with the force of the gigantic shock that would have been the vehicle hitting her.. I can imagine her pain. But not its intensity. I can imagine her alive. But not dead.
We have such a massive hue and cry about Tigers, such a roar about how we "need" to protect them. Does any one really care? I have always wanted to ask the politicians of this country, who so verbally fight with each other about the shittiest of reasons, insignificant crap that they perceive as national security.. I've wanted to ask them, "Do you respect the Tiger?" Do you understand WHY this conservation thing is important? Do you have ANY clue about how pathetic the crisis has become at this point in time? Do you know how responsible you are for ignorance in this country?
The one main concern for national security is our politicians themselves!! Irony? Worse, I think.
Does it show respect when you drive INTO A TIGER?? You suddenly make poachers look like an easier task. At least we KNOW their methods, and we can take required precautions. What do we do about people who drive into Tigers? Stop vehicles from entering? Won't work. Stop tourists from entering? Won't work. Stop politicians and their entire family [all possible relatives] from entering? Won't work but sounds bloody good.
Who did this? How did it happen? Lapse of security, law, concern, or all? Who is responsible for it? Will the "pass the buck" go on till the end of time, till finally Jhurjhura's spirit gets fed up even in Heaven? Will this matter too, like all others in this country, die down with time? Will it go cold like every other Tiger death that has been covered up? Oh, by the way, people who cover things up, most often than not, are pathetic at doing it. Unfortunately, the people who have the power and authority to arrest/punish the culprits, are usually corrupt. So will money, again, be the silencer of all evil? Will politicians and their kin and friends, and all those who give the usual ,"You don't know who I am?" attitude, always continue to get away with crimes as dastardly as even this? Does this matter to any one in power at all? She's dead dammit. And those cubs ... :'( Sorry. Can't write any more.
Just to prove what speculations can bring out.. Here's a bunch of reports on her death. Try and see if even one of them says the same thing. She was not 3 yrs old by the way. I'd guess her age to be approximately 8yrs. And the cubs, I believe, are 5 or 6 months old. Here goes:
- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Did-Bandhavgarh-tiger-choke-to-death/articleshow/5951666.cms
- http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/tigress-dies-in-bandhavgarh-tiger-reserve-26954.php?u=1358
- http://www.sindhtoday.net/news/2/140411.htm
- http://www.hindustantimes.com/Tigress-died-after-vehicle-hit-it/Article1-546330.aspx
- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/MP-ministers-kin-car-hit-tigress-in-Bandhavgarh/articleshow/5955969.cms
- http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/enviornment/bandhavgarh-tigress-died-due-to-vehicle-hit-say-officials_100367376.html
- http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/enviornment/tigress-found-dead-three-cubs-missing-in-bandhavgarh_100235400.html
- http://www.ptinews.com/news/659711_Tigress-dies-in-Bandhavgarh-Tiger-Reserve
- http://news.google.co.in/news/more?pz=1&cf=all&cf=all&ncl=doPFcoet4J9UwfMaWMlXRRSY0A7rM
2 comments:
It is sheer agony, Apoorva. She was one of the best tigresses ever. I cannot believe that she is dead. Every moment, I am waiting for a miracle. To hear some news that all this is some nightmare and not true. That she is alive and with her cubs...Anyone who knew her would know that she was a great person.
Been down too since I heard that. Was at Bandhavgarh over the weekend, but got the complete picture only after returning. Had a few chance conversations with the guides when there, the pieces fell into place only after coming back. They were VERY reluctant to say anything, probably had been warned. The hotel owner was more vocal, clearly implicated the Forest dept. vehicle itself. What now? The people who are supposed to be protecting the tiger are themselves killing them. On a positive not, the numbers are healthy, lots more cubs. Pray.
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