Civil society should show its concern for tiger protection by persuading the State governments to improve protection of forests, said Shekar Dattatri, Wildlife and Conservation filmmaker here on Friday. Screening his latest film on tigers ‘The Truth About Tigers' to the media, Mr. Dattatri suggested that those living near forests and were in the habit of visiting it should form a watchdog group with like-minded people. They should support good initiatives of the forest officials, he said.
The depletion was not only due to poaching of tigers, but also due to poaching of its prey. Poaching of herbivores was common in many forests in the country, he said.
Research findings clearly indicated that tiger population in the country could be increased to 10,000, provided the tiger reserves were made completely inviolate as envisaged by the Tiger Task Force of the Centre, he pointed out.
The film will soon have sub-titles in Tamil and it would be distributed to schools across the State. Apart from that it would also be screened to politicians, decision makers and college students and NGOs , he added.
