Save the Tiger!

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Save the Tiger!

Today, there are many problems that threaten the world's tiger population. Economic development, habitat loss, and lack of prey species all contribute to the extinction of this magnificent animal. But the most immediate threat facing the tiger is poaching for bones and other body parts to satisfy the market for traditional Chinese medicinal products.

To raise funds and make the international community aware of these issues, Mountain Travel-Sobek announces its sixth annual non-profit Save the Tiger! trip, a 17 day educational adventure that supports tiger conservation efforts. Veteran guide Brian Weirum, who developed the Save the Tiger! trip, provides excellent, knowledgeable leadership for the group. "With Mountain Travel- Sobek's support and encouragement, I started the Save the Tiger! trip in 1994," he stated. "The purpose was to take people into the heart of tiger habitat, give them a chance to see this beautiful animal in its natural setting, and to raise funds to support work being done to prevent the tiger's extinction."

To date, the trip series has raised more than $55,000. Mountain Travel-Sobek donates the profits from this trip to California-based The Fund for the Tiger, a non-profit public charity established by Mr. Weirum that funds anti-poaching patrols, tiger counts, and monitoring work in Nepal and India. These efforts have had the following tangible impacts

In Nepal, anti-poaching units have been established in previously unprotected areas.
Information networks have infiltrated established poaching networks.
Rewards are offered for the arrest and conviction of those killing a tiger.
Censuses commissioned since 1994 show that a viable tiger population has re-emerged after years of near-catastrophic losses.

The 1999 trip includes visits to Bandhavgarh National Park in India and Royal Bardia National Park in Nepal. Bandhavgarh is a 450-sq-km. park that was created in 1968 in the vast central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; Royal Bardia National Park is an area of riverine and sal forests along the Karnali River in western Nepal. This park is prime tiger habitat and home to herds of wild elephant, including what some wildlife experts consider the largest Asian elephant of all, Raja Gaj. Traveling by elephant, land rover, and on foot, and in the company of tiger experts, participants have the rare opportunity to see tigers in their native habitat, learn about the threats to their survival, and explore what can be done to save these animals from extinction.

Along the way, the rich wildlife populations offer countless opportunities for viewing rhino, wild elephants, leopards, sambar, spotted deer, sloth bear, gaur, and a vast array of bird life.

While at Bardia, Dr. Charles McDougal, world-renowned tiger expert, hosts the group. An associate of the Tiger Tops Lodge, Dr. McDougal is author of the book The Face of the Tiger and Smithsonian Research Associate for the Nepal Tiger Monitoring Project.

The 17-day trip departs March 20, 1999. Land cost is from $3050.

For more information or to request a detailed itinerary, call toll free 1-888-MTSOBEK (687-6235). More information about this trip can also be found on the Mountain Travel-Sobek web site http://www.mtsobek.com.

6420 Fairmount Avenue
El Cerrito, California 94530
For more information and reservations
1-888-MTSOBEK (687-6235) or 1-510-527-8100
FAX: 1-510-525-7710
Email: info@mtsobek.com

Edited by Dave Shultz

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