European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 30, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse In Alampur known by Indiana a Village of the Tiger widows a woman whose husband a Fisherman wat Talon by a Tiger is consoled by her daughter the Tiger widows of Alampur by dip Ganguly associated press the 10-year-olo girl s shriek of error stilled to villagers loud chatter about collecting Honey in the Lush girl named Laxmi Lor the hindu goddess of wealth was serving food in a cafe in the Village of Alampur India when talk turned to Honey to the fearful Jungle where it is found and Inen to a Man killed by a Liger weeks earlier. My father was eaten by a Tiger Laxmi screamed As she stood sobbing by he table her Mother stopped washing dishes nearby and gently led the girl away. Please Don t a Nenion tigers in her presence the Molher says. One doas nol talk idly of tigers in Alampur known As the Village of the Tiger widows to cause in he past decade most of the Village men have been killed by the Graceful but dangerous beasts. Alampur is on the Edge of the Sunderbass a t,034 Square mile Forest in Eastern India one of 15 areas where the government is living to save the lordly Hoyal Bengal Tiger 1rom extinction. The 123 million project la save it big cats is succeeding the latest Tiger census three years ago based on Paw Marks that Are As Dis Mclive As the human Inge rpm showed More than 4,000 tigers roaming India. That was up from 1.s27 in 1973 when project Tiger was launched with Aid irom the world wildlife fund. Sunderbass has 2frl of he cals and Liger conservation has sparked a bitter controversy be Ween Man and beast in this area where poor villages depend on he Jungle or their living the government is Breeding Man eaters and under the Laws we cannot kill complains surya Kayla Roy the Village Leader in Alampur the government imposes a Fine of $7,692 for killing a Tiger but pays compensation of Only $384 to the family of a Tiger s victim. I have survived because i do not go o the Jungle says Roy who runs the Village school a Hopes his 16-year-old daughter will find a husband outs to the Village because "1 do not want to see her becoming a widow in key areas the government has set up electrified human dummies powered by car batteries that give a 230-Voll Shock to the Tiger that touches them. That is to convince tigers that Man is dangerous Loo. Villagers Are lord to carry a stick on their right shoulder because the Tiger always attacks the fight Side of the neck. Honey collectors Are Given Clay face masks to Wear on the Back of their Heads to confuse the Tiger Aslo which Side to Irtack. The Royal Bengal Tiger Neve attacks from the front. The growing Liger population that necessitated these Steps comes after years of decline. Al the Start of the Century Thucie were some 100,000 tigers of eight species in the world. No perhaps 2.000 indochinese tigers arc left in Thailand Malaysia and Cambodia. Sumatran siberian and chinese tigers number in the hundreds. There Are some Caspian tigers but no one has seen a javanese Tiger for years. The last balinese Tiger was shot in 1937. India once had the highest Tiger population in the world about 40,000 at the beginning of this Century. But an insatiable Otist Lor trophies among India s sporting maharajas and the Tiger largest member of cat family colouring Brownish be flow to Orange fed slashed with Black stripes whitish fur on Throat dry and insides of legs so adult mates420 Pound 9 feet Long including a 3-foot Tail females300 pounds. 8 feel of Man up to 20 years Young gestation of 93 to 109 Days usually 2 or 3 in a litter become Independent about z years old have mated successfully with Lions in zoos prey Large animals such As Deer Antelope wild oxen and wild pigs 3 to 4 of every 1,000 Gere Ever eat people often because the animals Are sick or mounded and unable to Hunt la go wild prey Gumbo trim in fac sane Wwod by in the wild usually be atone male Dalm territories my �6-250 Aqua Miles depending upon available prey Hunt at night can survive in almost any Mafe con tiered an endangered specie Page 16 the stars and stripes saturday. May 30,1987
