The big cat has always had an aura of alacrity around it. Amidst fears of their extinction, there have been resounding rumors — sometimes loud and at others whispers that the tigers roam and rove in the mountains of Bhutan. Following the trail of this rattling rumor, an expedition was undertaken by BBC Natural History Unit. The team captured the images of a snow leopard cub from over 5000 meters in the air.
BBC finds tigers in Himalayas
Explorer Steve Backshall, Tiger expert Alan Rabinowitz, Field scientist George McGavin, and wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan were joined by sniffer dog Bruiser as they explored for tigers in the wild. The result of this 6-week expedition is a documentary titled ” Lost Land of the Tiger”.
This is welcome news for the dwindling tiger species as it is real evidence that tigers can thrive and breed in the foothills of the Himalayas, which are more than 13,000 feet above sea level.
Conservationist Dr Alan Rabinowitz said the discovery took them one step closer to an ambitious plan to link up isolated tiger populations across Asia with a “corridor” where they are safe from humans. The team also captured film of the elusive snow leopard.
As Buchanan points out in his blog, Bhutan is one of the most devout Buddhist nations in the world, fervent protection of the environment is a top priority for the Bhutanese people and government so there is hope that poachers would not have it their way in the Himalayan kingdom.
This team of scientists have made rapid (and great)documentaries about the last and lost wildernesses of Papua,Borneo,Guyana and Bhutan and i don’t know if others exist too.I wish these people are given all the power by governments to protect these last true wild areas…I am an Indian and i am deeply saddened by the loss of jungles in India..Just imagine when Tigers roamed the entire sub continent and India had almost as much bio-diversity as Amazon…People must change their views about what is important in life…we can live in luxury and still be sustainable…only through education will this be possible.
wonderful to see Dr Rabinowitz in ABC TVs ‘Expedition Tiger’ have just ordered the DVD. Praise to Dr Rabinowitz for persistence and patience, what a way to spend a life (read his early childhood history), following the big cats, have his jaguar books too. Thank you for caring.