Valmik Thapar (born 1952) is an Indian naturalist, conservationist and writer. He is the author of 14 books and several articles, and has produced a range of programmes for television. Today he is one of India's most respected wildlife experts and

conservationists The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental, and social movement that seeks to manage and protect natural resources, including animal, fungus, and plant species as well as their habitat for the f ...

, having produced and narrated documentaries on India's natural habitat for such media as the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily dev ...

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

and

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

Early life

Valmik Thapar was born in Bombay to Raj and

Romesh Thapar Romesh Thapar (1922–1987) was an Indian journalist and political commentator. Affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Thapar was the founder-editor of the monthly journal ''Seminar,'' published from New Delhi, India. Early life ...

, a noted journalist and political commentator who founded political journal ''Seminar'' in 1959. Noted Indian historian

Romila Thapar Romila Thapar (born 30 November 1931) is an Indian historian. Her principal area of study is ancient India, a field in which she is pre-eminent. Quotr: "The pre-eminent interpreter of ancient Indian history today. ... " Thapar is a Professor ...

is his aunt. He married theatre personality

Sanjana Kapoor Sanjana Kapoor (born 1967) is an Indian theatre personality and former film actress. She is the daughter of actors Shashi Kapoor and Jennifer Kapoor. She ran the Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai from 1993 to February 2012. Biography Sanjna Kapoor w ...

and the couple have a son, Hamir. They live in Delhi.

Career

Valmik Thapar spent decades following the fortunes of India's tiger population. He was influenced by

Fateh Singh Rathore Fateh Singh Rathore (10 August 1938 – 1 March 2011) was an Indian tiger conservationist. Fateh Singh joined the Indian Forest Service in 1960 and was part of the first Project Tiger team. He was widely acknowledged as the ''tiger guru'' for h ...

. His stewardship of the

Ranthambore Foundation Ranthambore may to refer : * Ranthambore National Park, a national park in northern India * Ranthambore Fort, a fort within the Ranthambore National Park * Ranthambore Express, superfast train service in Indore and Jodhpur * Ranthambore railway st ...

was recognised and he was appointed a member of the Tiger Task Force of 2005 by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

. He criticised the majority Task Force view in his dissent note as excessively focussed on the prospects of co-existence of tigers and humans, which was, in his view not consistent with the objective of the panel. Tigerramki

His writings have analysed the perceived failure of

Project Tiger Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme launched in April 1973 by the Government of India during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tenure. The project aims at ensuring a viable population of the Bengal tiger in its natural habitats, protecti ...

, a conservation apparatus created in 1973 by the Government of India. He has critiqued Project Tiger, drawing attention to its mismanagement by a forest bureaucracy that is largely not scientifically trained. His most recent book ''The Last Tiger'' (Oxford University Press) makes this case strongly. Among the consistent criticisms levelled by Thapar at India's Ministry of Environment and Forests relates to its unwillingness to curb poaching through armed patrols and its refusal to open forests to scholarly scientific enquiry. His famous relationship with 'Macchli' a female tigress is documented in some of his chronicles.

His view on Ranthambore Tiger T24 transfer to Zoo

As per the Hindustan Times Joining the debate on the fate of

T-24 (tiger) T-24, also known as ''Ustad,'' was a tiger who lived in Ranthambore National Park, India. He allegedly killed four humans and was put into captivity. History T-24, popularly called Ustad, was a dominant male Tiger occupying Zones 1, 2 and 6 of ...

(Ustad), Valmik Thapar, one of India's most respected wildlife experts and conservationists, said relocating Ustad was the best option: “In my 40 years of experience of the tigers of Ranthambore, T-24 is the most dangerous tiger I have ever encountered. He killed four people, including two forest guards and two locals. The local villagers were partly eaten. The forest guards were not eaten because their bodies were retrieved keeping the tiger at bay. “After the first two kills I had suggested that this tiger be relocated to a captive enclosure but the tiger was given the benefit of the doubt. Later, two forest personnel have had to sacrifice their lives as a result. T-24 (9-years-old) territory included the path pilgrims take to and around the sacred Ganesha temple and Ranthambore fort. This last kill took place at the entry point of pilgrims and in daylight. “The forest department and the government of Rajasthan have done a spectacularly successful job in relocating a man killing and eating tiger to a one hectare enclosure in Udaipur where he has eaten and is calm and where he will spend his last years. By doing this they have made Ranthambore safer for the brave forest guards who patrol and the tens of thousands of pilgrims who walk. “Our feelings today must be for the families who suffered tragically in these five years that have gone by. It is for these families that we need to collect money and help. Any person or group who believed that he should have not been relocated would have to bear the responsibility on their shoulders for the next human kill and the accelerating conflict that could result. T-24 was given the maximum benefit of doubt that any man-eating tiger has ever got in recent Indian history.”

Selected TV works

*''Tiger Crisis'' *''

Land of the Tiger ''Land of the Tiger'' is a BBC nature documentary series exploring the natural history of the Indian subcontinent, first transmitted in the UK on BBC Two in 1997. The production team covered the breadth and depth of India, from the Himalayan moun ...

'' *''Tigers' Fortress'' *''Danger in Tiger Paradise'' *''Search for Tigers'' *''Overpopulation''

Bibliography

Books by Valmik Thapar 1. With Tigers in the Wild, Vikas Publishing, Delhi 2. Tiger: Portrait of a Predator, Collins UK 3. Tigers: The Secret Life, Hamish Hamilton, Penguin, UK 4. The Tiger's Destiny, Kyle Ceathie, UK 5. The Land of the Tiger: A Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent, BBC Publishing, UK 6. The Secret Life of Tigers, Oxford University Press, Delhi 7. Tiger, Wayland, UK 8. Wild Tigers of Ranthambhore, Oxford University Press, India 9. Bridge of God: 20 Days in the Masai Mara, Private 10. The Cult of the Tiger, Oxford University Press, India 11. Tiger: The Ultimate Guide, Two Brothers Press, USA 12. The Last Tiger, Oxford University Press, India 13. The Illustrated Tigers of India, Oxfpord University Press, India 14. Ranthambhore: 10 Days in the Tiger Fortress, Oxford University Press, India 15. Tigers and the Banyan Tree, Private 16. An African Diary: 12 Days in Kenya's Magical Wilderness, Oxford University Press, India 17. The Tiger: Soul of India, Oxford University Press, India 18. Tigers, My Life: Ranthambhore and Beyond, Oxford University Press, India 19. My Life with Tigers: Ranthambhore and Beyond, Oxford University Press, India 20. Tigers in the Emerald Forest: Ranthambhore after the Monsoon, Oxford University Press, India Tiger Fire, Aleph Publishing, India 21. Tiger Fire: 500 Years of the Tigers in India, Aleph Publishing, India 22. Wild Fire: The Splendours of India's Animal Kingdom, Aleph Publishing, India 23. Winged Fire: A Celebration of Indian Birds, Aleph Publishing, India 24. Living with Tigers, Aleph Publishing, India 25. Serengeti Magic, Private 26. Serengeti Tales, Private 27. Saving Wild India: A Blueprint for Change, Aleph Publishing, India Books co-authored by Valmik Thapar 28. With Tigers in the Wild with Fateh Singh Rathore and Tejbir Singh, Vikas Publishing, Delhi 29. Tigers and Tigerwallahs with Jim Corbett, Billy Arjan Singh, Geoffrey C. Ward and Diane Raines Ward, Oxford University Press, Delhi 30. Exotic Aliens with Romila Thapar and Yusuf Ansari, Aleph Publishing Books edited by Valmik Thapar 31. Saving Wild Tigers, 1900-2000: The Essential Writings, Permanent Black, India 32. Battling for Survival, Oxford University Press, India Selected TV works 1. Danger in Tiger Paradise 2. Land of the Tiger – 6 one hour programmes 3. Search for Tigers 4. Tiger Crisis I 5. Tiger Crisis II 6. Tiger Zero 7. Tigers' Fortress Selected Public Talks in ... 1. Auckland, New Zealand 2. Bangalore, India 3. Bangkok, Thailand 4. Bristol, UK 5. Brussels, Belgium 6. Calcutta, India 7. Chennai, India 8. Colombo, Sri Lankan 9. Dallas, USA 10. Delhi, India 11. Hague, Holland 12. Jamshedpur, India 13. Johannesburg, South Africa 14. London, UK 15. Male, Maldives 16. Monaco, Monte Carlo 17. Mumbai, India 18. Nairobi, Kenya 19. New York, USA 20. Oslo, Norway 21. Pasadena, USA 22. San Jose, Costa Rica 23. Singapore 24. Sydney, Australia 25. Thimpu, Bhutan 26. Washington, USA 27. Wellington, New Zealand 28. Jaipur, India Selected International Meetings that Valmik attended 1. CITES, Nairobi, Kenya 2. National Parks Commission, Venezuela 3. Save the Tiger Fund, Dallas, USA 4. Tiger Meetings in Thailand 5. CITES meeting, Hague, Holland 6. CITES meeting TRAFIIC, Bangkok, Thailand 7. Save the Tiger, Kathmandu, Nepal 8. London Zoological Society, London * * *

References

External links

The tiger in India: 'There is a war going on'- An exclusive interview with Valmik Thapar by the Discoverwild Foundation

Report on Valmik Thapar from The Telegraph, India
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thapar, Valmik Indian conservationists Living people 20th-century Indian historians Indian documentary filmmakers Writers from Delhi 1952 births Indian non-fiction environmental writers 20th-century Indian zoologists People from New Delhi 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers