Save the Tiger

Save the Tiger is a 1973 film about moral conflict in contemporary America. It stars Jack Lemmon, Jack Gilford, Laurie Heineman, Thayer David, Lara Parker and Liv Lindeland. The film is adapted from the novel of the same title by Steve Shagan, (the first book by the author of The Formula and other thrillers, and generally regarded to be his most successful novel by literary standards).

Jack Lemmon plays Harry Stoner, an executive at a Los Angeles apparel company on the edge of ruin. Throughout the film, Stoner struggles with the complexity of modern life versus the simplicity of his youth. He longs for the days when pitchers wound up, jazz filled the air, and the flag was more than a pattern to put on a jock-strap. He wrestles with the guilt of surviving the war and yet losing touch with the ideals for which his friends died. To Harry Stoner, the world has given up on integrity, and threatens to destroy anyone who clings to it. He is caught between watching everything he has worked for evaporate, or becoming another grain of sand in the erosion of the values he once held so dear.

Save the Tiger is a bleak story that depicts an outwardly successful man questioning the value of the material prosperity he's desperately trying to maintain. Lemmon plays Harry Stoner, an executive at an apparel company close to ruin. With no legal way to keep the company from going under, Stoner considers torching his warehouse  for the insurance settlement. Meanwhile, he drinks, laments the state of the world, and tries his best to keep the business rolling as usual. This last task is complicated when a client has a heart attack  in the arms of a prostitute provided by Stoner. With nerves still bristling, Stoner takes the stage at the premiere of his company's new line, only to be overcome by war memories. He ends the day spontaneously deciding to go home with a young, free-spirited hitchhiker, whose ignorance of his generation underscores his isolation from the world around him. At the end of the film, Stoner walks by a Little League  game and attempts to act as pitcher to the children. One child shouts out, "You can't play with us, Mister!", leaving Stoner yet again isolated from another part of society.

Tigers are on the threshold of extinction. According to WWF, Tigers are amongst the ten most endangered species in the world. Over the last century more than 95% of the Tiger population has been wiped out & three sub-species are already extinct. Less than 3500 tigers remain in the wild today with around 50% in India & their numbers are declining fast.

 

Initial results from the Wildlife Institute of India Tiger census (released on 24 May 2007) are warning that India has far fewer tigers living than had been previously thought. Complete stories on BBC & Discovery Channel. The next five years are going to be extremely critical if we are to save India's Tigers & forests. This is a small attempt to mobilise people like you & me to connect with conservationists out there with plenty of energy but very little money (Click here for more details on the Tiger situation & the Satpura Forests - the largest tiger habitat in the world).

I am selling prints of two tiger cartoons & doing custom caricatures to help raise money for a Community Conservation Project in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Maharashtra.

The conservation project involves setting-up a field station in Moharli, with three conservationists for a year. They will work towards improving the living conditions of the tribals who live in extreme poverty & reducing biotic pressure on the forest. The project will thereby help protect one of the largest Tiger habitats in the world. It will be executed by Satpuda Foundation  a registered grass-root NGO & will cost 2.76 lakh rupees (Click here to learn more about the project).

Every single paisa raised will go to the charity. All transactions will be transparent & available on this blog below. If at any time you are not satisfied - I will refund you all your money & you can keep the cartoons.

kids club project tiger

Tigers occupy the pinnacle of the food chain and a healthy tiger population is an indicator of the well being of the whole forest. Throughout evolution, predators have had a regulatory influence on the population sizes of other species; it is thanks to carnivores, such as tigers, that the number of herbivores is kept in check. In turn, the populations can therefore only fluctuate between certain limits because of this "feedback mechanism".

With the number of herbivores under control, but not depleted, the forest vegetation is likely to thrive provided humans do not over exploit it. Seeds will be dispersed by new growth will not be prevented by excessive grazing pressure. Healthy vegetation protects the rainwater and safeguards the water table. Many forest are important catchments areas for rivers, upon which many species, including human beings, depend.

Species at the top of the food chain are generally larger and require more space than other animals, particularly if they are territorial . Conserving such species in the wild protects the habitat of many other animals, as well as safeguarding the essential ecological processes such as water and nutrient cycling. Thus the tiger is the guardian of many other creatures.