The Murry Foundation is currently working with the people of Nepal to build a rehabilitation and release centre to ensure the survival of the tigers and Rhinos in Nepal. With less than 100 tigers left in Nepal, and numbers believed to be under 3000 in the rest of the world, it is extremely likely that all tigers in the wild could be wiped out from the face of the planet within 18 months.

In agreement with the Nepalese concerned authorities, the Foundation has secured the land to build the rehabilitation and release sanctuaries within the Royal National Chitwan Park, but if work is not commenced within the next month to start building the centres the authorities are threatening to pull the plug on the operation, meaning the certain death of the last remaining tigers and possibly the Rhino too.

The Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP) in Nepal has long been one of the countrys treasures of natural wonders. The park is situated in south central Nepal, covering 932 sq. km. in the subtropical lowlands of the inner Terai. The land comprising the Tikauli forest - from Rapti River to the foothills of the Mahabharat - extending over an area of 175 sq. km. was declared Mahendra Mriga Kunj (Mahendra Deer Park) by the late King Mahendra in 1959. In 1963, the area south of Rapti River was demarcated as a rhinoceros sanctuary. The area was gazetted as the countrys first national park in 1973. Recognising its unique ecosystems of international significance, UNESCO declared RCNP a World Heritage Site in 1984.

In 1996, an area of 750 sq. km surrounding the park was declared a buffer zone which consists of forests and private lands. The park and the local people jointly initiated community development activities and managed natural resources in the buffer zone. His Majestys Government has made a provision of ploughing back 30-50 percent of the park revenue for community development in the buffer zone.

The park houses a diversity of ecosystems, including the Churia hills, ox-bow lakes and the flood plains of the Rapti, Reu and Narayani Rivers. The Churia hills rise slowly towards the east from 150 metres to more than 800 metres. The western portion of the park is comprised of the lower but more rugged Someshwor hills. The park also shares its eastern boundary with the Parsa Wildlife Reserve.

The Chitwan valley consists of tropical and subtropical forests. Sal forests cover 70 percent of the park. Sal leaves are used locally for plates in festivals and religious offerings. Grasslands cover 20 percent of the park and there are more than 50 different types of grasses, including the elephant grass (Saccharum spp.), renowned for its immense height which can grow up to 8 metres in height! The shorter grasses (Imperata spp.) are used for roof thatching, mats, rope and papermaking.

The park is home to more than 50 mammal species, over 525 birds and 55 amphibians and reptiles.

The rehabilitation and release sanctuary will be the first of its kind in the world, and will not only hopefully secure the lives of these beautiful endangered species, but will also bring employment to the villagers of Nepal who are involved with this project. Not only will this keep the villagers in work, it will also be a powerful educational tool for the people of the country. Once fully developed the rehabilitation and release sanctuary will provide eco tourism opportunities to ensure it is not only self sustaining, but a way of bringing the plight of these tigers to the public eye.

Narayani, the tiger pictured above, is one of several tigers that have already been rescued from death by the Murry Foundation. A short term rehabilitation enclosure has been built for her, where she is currently being nursed back to full health to prepare her for eventual release into the sanctuary. We have also secured the safety of two Rhinos.

The tiger is one of the worlds most magnificent animals and is an indicator species of a healthy ecosystem. Eight sub-species of tiger, comprising of more than 100,000 individuals, roamed the earth at the turn of the last century. However, in the last 50-60 years, three sub-species have become extinct mainly due to poaching, loss of habitat from agricultural purposes and diminished prey. The remaining five sub-species of tiger are Royal Bengal, Amur, South China, Sumatran and Indo-Chinese ranging over 13 countries of Asia, including Nepal. The Indo-Chinese Tiger is now also thought to be extinct now also. If this is the case, only 4 remaining Sub species will be left.

We have entered an era like no other. This is the worst crisis for the tiger since the inception of Project Tiger in 1973. The wilderness and all its inhabitants are at a crossroads, forests are vanishing at a rate of 500,000 hectors (1,100,000 acres) in a single week for agriculture, wildlife are dying at an alarming rate and the natural treasures of this world are vanishing like never before. It is a matter of great concern for all of us that the most majestic member of the cat family, the Tiger, is on the verge of extinction. Extinction of the tiger will not only be the extinction of one species from the world but will be an initiation for imbalance in the ecosystems. In the absence of the tiger, the population of prey species, especially deer, increase geometrically, leading to destruction of the crops of farmers living in the periphery of these forest. This will create a disturbance in the harmony of predator-prey relationship, ecosystem and biodiversity. So, it is necessary to unite all Governmental organisations and Non-Governmental organisations {NGOs} at all levels along with the people concerned to conserve this animal residing at the top of the ecological pyramid.

Tigers, like other animals, die naturally or are killed. In causing the death of a tigress with cubs, the cubs become helpless and ultimately die of hunger, or other wild beasts kill them. Furthermore, if we talk about Narayani, pictured above who was rescued by the Foundation, then we come to know that her mother was accused of being a man-eater and brutally killed by the people. At the same time, the local villagers also killed two more cubs (born together with Narayani) inhumanely calling them man-eaters {how can 11 months old cubs without well-grown canines be man-eaters?}. Cases like these raise questions like Is the ultimate solution to kill the man-eaters? and if the victim is a mother of three innocent and feeble cubs, as in this case, saving the life of Narayani in such a critical condition is really a commendable effort on the part of RCNP staff.

But other tigers, as well as other wild animals, arent so fortunate all the time. So, we have forwarded the concept of the Rehabilitation and Release Centre with an honest aim: to reduce the problems of the wild animals as well as the sufferings inflicted on human beings by the wild animals. At the moment, the program on two hectares area is in an experimental stage. The success of this step will lead the program to second and third phases.

The proposal

Over the past years The Foundation has established a powerful working relationship with the local and political authorities. We have established a permanent base there and have good reliable people working with us there. In the past year we have helped build school libraries and provided books games, toys, clothes etc to the villages and towns. We have helped clean a 6000 acre lake which gave fresh water to all the villages but became unusable until we cleaned it. This was a massive but very successful operation.

Since we have done this, we have established a much respected image with the locals and the local authorities that now come to us for advice. We have now gained the respect to prevent any tigers being killed by the local villagers and instead they seek our help in relocating the tiger if it becomes a threat to the village. This has never happened before. We have many teachers that work in the schools teaching the students about ecology and nature, and at present everything seems to be working smoothly.

Once, the dodo was a very common bird on the island of Mauritius, before it was clubbed to extinction in 1681. The last Stellers cow was killed in Bering Island in 1768. The beautiful passenger pigeon was once estimated to number more than five billion in North America. It was massacred in large numbers by relentless hunters and the last passenger pigeon was shot on the 24th March 1900. The Indian pink headed duck became extinct in 1940 and the last Indian cheetah was shot in 1952 along with the Tasmanian tiger and the other extinct tiger subspecies. It becomes depressing and unfortunately if we dont do something about it now, the Tiger seems destined to be added.

It has been estimated that a further 15-20% of the earths species may be extinct by the year 2020-all victims of mans short sightedness, cruelty and greed. Join with me to do something now to stop the tiger, the magnificent and the most powerful species the world has ever seen, the main instrument of nature for maintaining balance in the forest ecosystem, get reduced to a mere item in the statistics of extinct species.

Narayani continues to live in safety with commendation due to The Murry Foundation Team in Nepal and the local villagers. These humble people have proved the value of education in changing perspectives and preserving life. January and February 2008 will witness the completion of the sanctuary, ensuring that Nepals valuable and unique wildlife remains protected. Narayani will be re-located within the next 4-6 weeks into a huge rehabiliation enclosure. Rescued elephants and hyenas have already moved in to the sanctuary. The Foundation would like to extend a personal thank you to Ajeev and his team for their consistent hard work that allows The Foundation to grow in this great country.

Chitwan, Nepal now holds its wildlife in great esteem and sets an example for other villages and towns. The sanctuary will keep Nepals most precious commodity, its wildlife, safe from outsiders who would knowingly destroy and exploit. The successful model used in Chitwan, will be transferred to projects globally to ensure that yesterdays mistakes do not taint the generations of tomorrow.