Tiger trail: Cloning not an alternative

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http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/oct32005/state195032005102.asp

 

Tiger trail: Cloning not an alternative

 

DH News Service Bangalore:

 

Taking a dig at the Centre for investing Rs 3 crore in

trying to clone the cheetah, Dr Karanth asked, ‘Where

will the cloned cheetahs live?’

 

Cloning is the buzzword in today’s world and tigers

are the most spoken about animals in India today

because of the rapidly depleting numbers. So why can’t

we clone a tiger to save them from extinction?

 

According to Dr Ullas Karanth, noted tiger biologist,

cloning is not the solution to save the tiger.

“Cloning is irrelevant because tigers normally breed

in large numbers. What we are concerned about is

protecting wildlife by conserving habitats for them to

live and not by increasing their numbers,” he said.

Instead of initiating steps to protect them, we are

talking about bringing up tigers in well-equipped

labs, he said, criticising the idea.

 

When questioned whether cloning would help in

conserving tigers, he said the tigers cannot be sold

like cows. The numbers may be there but wildlife has a

premium, which is why poachers are interested in them,

he felt and added that such captive breeding had not

helped in conservation wherever such an experiment was

done.

 

Conserve habitats

 

In the interactive session that followed the screening

of the film ‘Tigers Fighting Back’, Dr Karanth took a

dig at the Central government for investing Rs 3 crore

in trying to clone the cheetah which disappeared from

India almost 50 years ago. “Even if they are cloned

where will they live?” he asked, stating that the

cheetah habitat had been wiped out completely.

 

The enthusiasm of the audience in conserving wildlife

was encouraging given the number of queries that Dr

Karanth received on the public’s role in protecting

wildlife and environment. Dr Karanth said, “One should

love watching animals. That’s what will drive you.

Else one may buckle under the pressure of being a

conservationist.” “There are immense opportunities if

one is willing to set aside time for conservation,” he

added.

 

Co-existence the key

 

As to whether humans and wildlife could co-exist, he

explained that there were a few sub-sects which cannot

co-exist with human beings. Excluding these sub-sects,

humans can and have to co-exist with wildlife, he

added.

 

As for radio-collaring of animals and its effect, he

said the effect would depend on the size of the animal

and the size of the tags used. Today, radio collaring

is a very professional thing and thanks to

miniaturisation of technology, concerns about radio

collaring is limited to very small animals, he added.

 

The film was screened as part of Wildlife Week

celebrations by Wildlife Conservation Society - India,

in association with Wildlife First and Centre for

Wildlife Studies. It shows work of 3 tiger biologists

who followed the trail of the tiger through the

tropical jungles of India, the rainforests of Thailand

and the cold barrens of Siberia.

 

Demythifying the buzz surrounding the eco- tourism, Dr

Ullas Karant warned that eco-tourism could have a

negative impact, if it was not done in the right way.

 

“There are cases in which eco-tourism has expanded the

landbase for wildlife. But a legitimate case has to be

made,” he said, regretting that India has not done a

good job when it comes to eco-tourism.

 

Rightly put, the revenue from eco-tourism should go

towards conservation of wildlife and to locals who

assist in these activities, for their benefit.