Tom Pietrasik Video & Photography

At the Tiger Watch Faludi town hostel for boys from the marginalised Mogia caste, Dharmendra Khandal, of Tiger Watch listens to colleague Fateh Singh who established Ranthambore National Park. Tiger Watch channels funds into the Mogia community by investing in alternative livelihoods and education. In doing so, Singh and Khandal hope to discourage Mogia people from hunting in Rathambore National park for bush-meat and tigers. Above the two men are pictures - among others - of Hindu goddess Laxmi, socialist hero Chandra Shekhar Azad and India's first Prime Minister Nehru. ..Sariska National Park in Rajasthan was once home to dozens of tigers but by 2005 poaching had resulted in their complete eradication. Recognising the urgent need for intervention, the Indian and Rajasthan-state governments began the reintroduction of tigers into Sariska. Two cats were airlifted 200 km from Ranthambore National Park in June 2008. On November 5th an attempt to relocate a third tiger was postponed until later in the month. This relocation strategy is certainly an important part of the tiger conservation effort but many, including those like Dharmendra Khandal of the NGO Tiger Watch, argue that it will never be entirely successful without properly confronting the three essential issues that threaten tiger populations: poaching, habitat loss and the hunting of prey-base animals. In turn, these three issues cannot be addressed without acknowledging the malign influence of caste, poverty and poor administrative accountability. Poaching is almost exclusively undertaken by extremely poor and marginalised groups, including the Mogia caste who, without education, land and access to credit have limited alternative means of income. Many in the Mogia community also hunt bush meat for both their own consumption and to sell to others. This results in a depletion of the prey-base upon which tigers feed. Encroachment and grazing by those including the Gujar people who raise dairy herds, have led to