Its so cute...

The other day while watching the TV I saw the "save our tiger" campaign ad of a tiger cub lost in the jungle and we are left with the echoing sound of a bullet and "Uski Ma lautegi bhi ya nahi" dialog. Seeing the tiger cub I said "Its so cute" To which my husband replies "It looks cute from far".

True, they are one of the most ferocious animals roaming on the face of the earth but can anybody deny the fact that they are just absolutely beautiful and majestic. The last time I saw a real tiger up close was at Bannerghetta National Park, Bangalore. They were just happily posing for the shutterbugs like trained models. Showing off their beauty and strength by trying to climb trees, roaring, circling the van carrying us.

Coming back to that comment, it made me voice my cute tiger cub's thoughts. We say they are ferocious and dangerous but what are we to them. They never kill human beings for fun or as game. Few tigers become man-eater and that too may be because they are too sick or old or wounded to hunt. Otherwise in general they avoid human beings. And mostly the situation is created by man himself by encroaching the tiger's territory for his own purposes.

How many times have we not retaliated angrily when someone stamps us or pushes us in a rush. Then why wouldn't a speechless animal react when we threaten its very existence. It doesn't come into our habitat, we encroach its territory for agricultural or residential purposes. Thereby forcing it to come in contact with the humans.

Tigers are carnivorous animal, they have to kill their prey for their survival. That is how God made them. But why do we kill them... We, who are blessed with the most advanced brain of all species, kill them for pure fun or to adorn the house with their skin or stuffed version or for some other brutal purposes.

Once Mahatma Gandhi said, "The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Well the count of our National Animal has dwindled down to 1411, gradually moving towards extinction. Some food for thought.

Do you know in poll conducted by the Animal Planet tigers emerged as the World's favourite animal edging out man's best friend dog.....