The Way of the Tigers is different. Author K.Ullas Karanth is a Wildlife Conservation Society biologist and perhaps India's leading authority on tigers. Karanth explains what is- and is not true about these secretive big cats to which he has devoted the past 21 years. He outlines as well what will be asked of all of us if tigers are not to disappear from the wild.

The latest information is here, from tiger genetics to the little understood but indispensable role basic biology must play in the future if the success or failure of tiger management is to be assessed. The author has little patience with romantics who insist that tigers and a growing human population can harmoniously share the same shrinking forests. If tigers are to survive, he believes, the course is clear: "establishing protected reserves and buffering them with compatible land use; delinking tiger habitats from the forces of market-driven commerce; (and) enlisting sufficient public support for tigers both locally and globally to ensure these goals are met". Everyone, everywhere, he writes, can find a part to play in that effort.

Meanwhile he urges us to resist the pessimism that can be fatal to the cause. Things looked bad for the tiger in the 1970s, too, Karanth reminds us. But in India, at least, thanks to political will, private resolve, and the commitment of a handful of forest officials, the tiger's slide toward extinction was halted-even reversed for a time. "If wild tigers do not survive the twenty-first century", the author concludes, "it will largely be because we, the current crop of tiger conservationists, have lost this sense of purpose, clarity of thinking, and sense of hope. By failing to inspire the next generation....the present day doomsayers may be making self fulfilling prophesies".


The Way of the Tiger   July 18, 2002
"Is the tiger a lost cause, or is there some reason of hope?" K.Ullas Karanth, one of India's best known tiger specialists asks and then goes on to convincingly make a case for tiger conservation and why he believes that wild tigers can survive. A conservation Zoologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society, the author has studied wild tiger for over 15 years.

In The Way of the Tigers, the author emphasizes why scientific studies are essential for the process of tiger conservation. The book is informative and takes the reader into the world of tigers. Karanth discusses the rationale behind saving tigers and why the primary challenge before us today is to channel the human fascination for the tiger to positive conservation action.

Karanth looks at the methods and results of scientific work such as radio-tracking and other methods used to count wild tigers. He also explains the evolution of tigers, their distribution and how humans have interacted with tigers since prehistoric times. He gives you an overview of the natural habitats, prey species, and behavior and biological needs of tigers and also delves into how modern science has helped replace traditional myths on tigers. The book also discusses the reasons why tiger populations are in decline-the main socio-economic threats to the tiger - habitat destruction for agriculture, development projects, exploitation of forest produce and hunting and poaching.

He summarizes conservation movement in India and efforts made so far to save the tiger providing a compelling and optimistic raison d'etre on why he believes that the tiger can be saved. He states that "wild tigers can survive the 21st century if we can temper our compassion for the animal with knowledge and pragmatism". An interesting and enlightening book on the crucial issue of tiger conservation.


The Way of the Tiger   July 17, 2002
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"Is the tiger a lost cause, or is there some reason of hope?" K.Ullas Karanth, one of India's best known tiger specialists asks and then goes on to convincingly make a case for tiger conservation and why he believes that wild tigers can survive. A conservation Zoologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society, the author has studied wild tiger for over 15 years.

In The Way of the Tigers, the author emphasizes why scientific studies are essential for the process of tiger conservation. The book is informative and takes the reader into the world of tigers. Karanth discusses the rationale behind saving tigers and why the primary challenge before us today is to channel the human fascination for the tiger to positive conservation action.

Karanth looks at the methods and results of scientific work such as radio-tracking and other methods used to count wild tigers. He also explains the evolution of tigers, their distribution and how humans have interacted with tigers since prehistoric times. He gives you an overview of the natural habitats, prey species, and behavior and biological needs of tigers and also delves into how modern science has helped replace traditional myths on tigers. The book also discusses the reasons why tiger populations are in decline-the main socio-economic threats to the tiger - habitat destruction for agriculture, development projects, exploitation of forest produce and hunting and poaching.

He summarizes conservation movement in India and efforts made so far to save the tiger providing a compelling and optimistic raison d'etre on why he believes that the tiger can be saved. He states that "wild tigers can survive the 21st century if we can temper our compassion for the animal with knowledge and pragmatism". An interesting and enlightening book on the crucial issue of tiger conservation.