Saving Tigers – Really ?

There has been an uproar in the  social media about the latest campaign by WWF and Aircel “Save Our Tigers”. Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, Youtube nothing has been left out. There are numerous “difficult to miss advertisements” on the television almost every now and then. The TVC does make you think. For those of you who have not seen the commercial till now, here it is.

The people behind the commercial have done a splendid job. It does make a person sit up and think. I have seen the advertisement so many times, that I know by heart that there are 1411 tigers left in India. Ask me how many people are there in my team, and I will have to sit down and count!

1411 was a number that I was thinking of while driving to work one day. I was thinking about what I could do to help. The TVC asks us to speak up, blog, share to help the tigers. Do all these passive ways really make a difference now? A blog or a TVC might help the educated class in knowing about the fact that tigers are on the way to extinction. But, honestly, is there any person with the basic education who does not know this fact. My younger sister was told about this when she was taught to say T for Tiger!

The people who in any way help in poaching tigers already know that tigers are becoming a rare commodity. People who kill tigers know that they are doing something wrong. Can an awareness campaign like this change the mind of such people?? A long shot, as per me. If there is anything that needs to be done now, it is to pump in money which will directly ensure the safety of the tigers. Make tiger reserves safe for tigers. The time for other passive means is over. By the time the people start talking about the this and spread education around, the tigers would be long gone. The government has to step in and perform a more active role.

The entire campaign is very well executed. The TV & radio spots, the website, social groups all point to a perfect planning. But, I think the only entity which will gain mileage out of it is Aircel. I have nothing against Aircel. I think they are doing a fantastic job at creating awareness, but there needs to be much more action. There is nothing much that tiger conservation will gain out of this. Sure, tiger conservation will become a hot topic of discussion during the office lunches and family dinners. Sure there will be lot of people joining the Save our Tiger group on Facebook. But, will anything be done to ensure that the number does not go below 1411?