Students campaign to save tigers in Coimbatore

Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), Dec. 17 (ANI): Over 2000 students took part in a campaign to save the tiger here on Thursday.

They dressed themselves up in tiger skin outfits, carried placards, banners and Indian flags, and thus, attracted a lot of public attention.

Priyanth, a student, said the rally was aimed at spreading awareness about the reducing tiger population.

"Today, in our country, thousands of tigers are killed and the population of tigers has come down. There are only 1400 tigers in our country," said Priyanth.

Participants called on the government to provide safety measures to save tigers from poachers and to stop rampant deforestation, which was destroying their natural habitat.

Ajit Kumar Lal, an organizer of the campaign titled 'Save Our Tiger Rally', said that by using students to spread the message, the public is getting aware faster about the crisis related to these animals.

He said that the next step is to create a students contributory fund, which will be donated towards the conservation of tigers in various forests in India.

Coimbatore Mayor R. Venkatachalam flagged off the event, which a private college organized in the city.

With the tiger population dwindling in recent years as a result of poaching, wildlife officials say hunters have increasingly set their sights on leopards, killing them for their skins as well as bones, claws and penises for use in traditional Asian medicines.

The eradication of their natural habitat has also threatened the existence and longevity of these wild animals, forcing some of them to stray into human settlements to attack people and livestock to survive.

Failure by authorities to understand the needs of tigers and provide protection has led to numbers falling to around 1400 now from around 3,700 in 2001/02. (ANI)