‘Life of Pi’ shows bond, but tigers face human threat
INDIA: Oscar-winning director Ang Lee's new epic “Life of Pi”
showcases the relationship between a teenage Indian boy and a Bengal
tiger. But in reality, the predators are under increasing threat from
humans.
Poaching remains a tremendous danger for the remaining feline
population, with rising demand for tiger parts from East Asia,
especially China where tiger bone is used in traditional medicines,
experts say.
Rising man-animal conflict is also one of the leading causes of
decline in tiger numbers.
Animal rights group PETA is hoping to use the popularity of the film
to focus people's attention on the real-life plight of Bengal tigers.
“Life of Pi is a work of fiction, but in real life, there are threats
to animals in their natural habitat that must be addressed,” said
Manilal Valliyate, director of veterinary affairs at PETA-India. India
is home to 1,706 tigers according to the latest census, almost half of
the worldwide population. But that figure is a fraction of the 40,000
that roamed the country in 1947 at the time of the country's
independence.
In Lee's movie, the protagonist Pi is forced to share a lifeboat with
the tiger after a shipwreck kills his family after they set out for
Canada from India, accompanied by animals from the zoo they ran.
Pi is initially nervous, but tries to train the cat in the hope it
will not kill him as long as he keeps its hunger at bay.
The relationship that gradually develops between them over the 227
days they spend together on the lifeboat endears both the characters to
the audience.
India has been struggling to halt the tiger's decline in the face of
poachers, international smuggling networks and the loss of habitat which
encourages the animals to leave the forest in search of food.
So far this year, 58 tiger deaths have been reported in the country,
according to Tigernet, the official database of the National Tiger
Conservation Authority.
AFP
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