TIGER WATCH
HELPING INDIA’S TIGERS AND HUMANS COEXIST
Ask any A&K guest who’s been lucky enough to spot a tiger in Rajasthan’s Ranthambore National Park and they’ll tell you it’s a truly life-changing experience. The majesty of these big cats striding free in the wild is simply undeniable.
But for Rajasthan’s locals, a tiger sighting can strike a different, more worrying chord. Tigers pose a serious threat to livestock, and with margins razor thin, locals can ill afford to lose a goat, cow or buffalo to predation. When livestock are lost to tigers, government compensation is often slow and inadequate. This has resulted in strained relations between local communities and wildlife conservation organizations. Add to this a growing overlap of urban sprawl and tiger habitat, and the situation is rife for conflict.
To address this challenge, AKP and A&K India have partnered with local NGO Tiger Watch to support a Cattle Compensation Program, providing swift and fair financial relief for livestock losses over and above the typical government payment.
Established in 1998, Tiger Watch has spearheaded anti-poaching initiatives, wildlife monitoring, biodiversity research, community engagement and Forest Department support efforts throughout the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve and its surrounding regions.
Moving forward, our partnership with Tiger Watch aims to cement a solid working relationship with the local community by sustaining the Cattle Compensation Program for three years. In the second phase, we will coordinate improvements to feeding in stalls and animal husbandry programs to reduce the number of livestock that wander into the tigers’ forest. Then, data collected by the program will be analyzed to help future interventions by Tiger Watch and the Forest Department.
A&K guests visiting Ranthambore National Park on a Tailormade Journey are welcome to visit Dhonk, a social enterprise founded by a Tiger Watch field biologist and his wife. Hosted at the Tiger Learning Center, this experience offers deeper insights into regional ecology, conservation efforts and the communities living alongside wildlife. Dhonk provides local artisans — many of whom are former poachers — with training and sustainable employment, helping them shift their focus from hunting to crafts.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
100% of your donation goes directly toward our initiatives,
wherever it is needed most urgently. We rely on your donations to power our projects, supporting impoverished communities and promoting the conservation of our wildlife and wilderness.
