India has great global responsibility to preserve tigers: UK-based wildlife photographer, writer Graeme Green

MUMBAI: UK-based wildlife photographer and writer Graeme Green has recently published his book 'The New Big 5' containing the works of more than 165 wildlife photographers, activists and conservationists.


This book comes on the heels of the latest tiger numbers in India having risen to 3167 and Project Tiger having completed 50 years of fruitful work in protecting and preserving tigers in the country.

'Preserve Big 5'

In an email interaction, Green spoke about the need to preserve the 'Big 5' species: tigers, lions, elephants, gorillas and polar bears.

"India now has the great global responsibility to preserve tigers and the forests, as tigers have been wiped out from other parts of the world," says Green, whose book also contains the statement of Dr Anish Andheria, CEO of Wildlife Conservation Trust, in an essay on tigers: "As long as one can hear the awe-inspiring roar of a tiger in the forest, there will be hope that all is well with the world. However, a lot more work needs to be done to protect forests and the tiger corridors."

Human-wildlife conflict

Green also commented on various related issues like human-wildlife conflicts and how to manage this issue, besides how the next 10 years are critically vital for the preservation of endangered species around the world.

In a metropolis like Mumbai alone, which has the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in the northern end, the leopard sightings in urban areas once again tells the story of how there is pressure to further shrink the forest, including the buffer area like Aarey Colony, which therefore further reduces wildlife habitats, making prime predators like leopards to literally jump down upon human settlements.

On the shocking human-wildlife conflict a few years ago from Maharashtra, in which the state government had ordered the killing of the maneater tigress, called Avni, Green did not directly want to comment on this sensitive issue.

However, he did state generally: Human-wildlife conflict and habitat loss are massive challenges facing wildlife in India and in many other parts of the world. As human populations expand, they’re coming into closer contact with animals.

"We all need to understand and appreciate what it’s like for local people to live alongside animals, like lions or elephants or tigers, animals that can be a threat to their crops, livestock and livelihoods."

Conservation organisations around the world are working on inventive ways to make coexistence possible, such as deterrents for lions and elephants, or barriers to keep predators at bay. There needs to be serious investment in coexistence, because, with growing human populations, wildlife is increasingly at risk. And we can’t afford to lose more wildlife," he says.

The "big five" species which need to be protected today are lions, tigers, elephants, gorillas and polar bears.

There are many photographers from India in the book, including Sudhir Shivaram, Shivang Mehta, Sandesh Kadur, Aishwarya Sridhar, Ramakrishnan Aiyaswamy, Priyanshi Bachhawat Nahata, Aarzoo Khurana, Shibu Preman and Latika Nath, as well as photographers from Botswana, China, Kenya, Ecuador, Kuwait, Mexico, Brazil, Japan.

The book includes many great female photographers and African, Asian and Latin American photographers.

The New Big 5 is a global call to action, added Green, sounded by some of the foremost conservationists on Earth.

The book contains 226 majestic portraits and creative photos of creatures in their natural habitats from 146 globally renowned photographers, including Ami Vitale, Marsel van Oosten, Paul Nicklen, Steve McCurry, Karine Aigner, Brian Skerry, Frans Lanting, Marina Cano, Beverly Joubert, Gurcharan Roopra, Thomas Mangelsen, Lucas Bustamante, Suzi Eszterhas, Paul Hilton, Cristina Mittermeier, Gael R Vande weghe, Daisy Gilardini, Steve Winter, Qiang Zhang, Art Wolfe, Shannon Wild, Will Burrard-Lucas, David Lloyd, Sergey Gorshkov, Jonathan and Angela Scott, Thomas Vijayan, Tony Wu, and many more.

The book also features essays from leading conservationists, including Jane Goodall, Paula Kahumbu (CEO/Founder, Wildlife Direct), Tara Stoinski (CEO, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund), Krista Wright (Executive Director, Polar Bears International), Anish Andheria (CEO, Wildlife Conservation Trust), Moreangels Mbizah (Executive Director, Wildlife Conservation Action), Dominique Gonçalves (Manager, Elephant Ecology Project at Gorongosa National Park), and Wes Sechrest (CEO, Re:wild).

Finally, on the recent import of cheetahs from Africa to India, the author remarked: "The move of cheetahs from Africa to Asia was highly debated, with several critical voices from Indian conservationists, as it was an expensive and risky strategy to move cheetahs from Africa to India and I understand their concerns. Now it’s happened, I hope it works out for the cheetahs."




He adds: "Also, grasslands are important for wildlife (such as cheetahs). So are forests, so are rivers, lakes and ocean sources. Wild animals often need space, feeding grounds, a place to roam and to live. In a world with expanding human populations, that fight for space is a major issue."