Save the tigers! Why our inability to protect the sleepiest of cats will haunt us forever

Roar, roar! 🐯

It’s time to unleash your inner tiger!

Good morning big cats! 🐯 Did you sleep well? Stretched your paws a little bit, but are you still feeling tired? Fighting the deep desire to go back to bed for a well-deserved second snooze? Don’t worry: You've pretty much become a tiger! 🤗

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…. zzzzzzzzzzz.
Did you know that the majestic animals we associate with chasing antelopes (and a terrible US TV show) spend even more time napping than their domesticated brothers and sisters? According to sleep.org, wild tigers snooze between 16-20 hours a day. A house cat, in comparison, sleeps “only” 12 hours ! In other words: Tigers in the wild sleep more like newborn human babies - and thus, our cat Fifi’s snoozing behaviour makes her officially a tiger lady. 😴

Tigers are the real kings and queens of the jungle.
Obviously, Disney’s marketing team did a bad job doing their initial research: It is tigers, at least according to the stats, that are the true royalty of the jungle. Not only do tigers have bigger brains (on an average, 16 % larger than a lion’s), and are physically stronger than their famous cousins, but they actually do live in jungles. Lions prefer to hang out in scrubland, grasslands, savannahs and rocky hills. Sorry Disney! Seems like there is no lion in any jungle. 🧐

Most probably, the confusion stems from the literal translation of the hindi word ‘jangle’ (stemming from the Sanskrit root ‘jangla’, meaning uncultivated land) into English as ‘forest’ or even ‘savannah-like wasteland’. Oh well - now “The Tiger King” is not a multi-billion dollar hit film, but a man with a mullet in a prison cell. 🙈

Before you continue reading, watch this 3-minute-video to brush up your tiger knowledge.

Unfortunately, less than 4000 tigers roam the wild according to the WWF, out of which almost 3000 of them live in India, as stated in 2018 by the National Tiger Conservation Authority. Even Goa, which is home to quite a few big cats, does not acknowledge its native tiger population (according to a Guardian article from February this year), and thus offers no official protection.

The big question is: What can we do?
Since deforestation is one of the primary reasons that lead tigers to lose their natural habit, the way every single one of us consumes can change - and break - the speed with which jungles and forests are destroyed worldwide. Here are 3 easy-to-implement tips to save tigers (as well as many others endangered wild animals) from the comfort of our homes. Save the trees, save the animals! 🌳🌴🌲🌵

1. Reduce, or if you can, give up eating meat and other animal products.
Believe it or not: Cattle farming and agricultural expansion that produce crops to be fed to cows and pigs are one of the key drivers of deforestation. BTW: Did you know that more than half the world's crops are used to feed farm animals and NOT people?

For instance, if you would avoid eating any animal products for just one single day, you would be able to save approximately

• 20 kilogram of grain (that then could be given to the world’s poorest people)

• 30 square feet of forested land

• 1 animal life (or more)

• 4,100 litres of water

Now that’s what one can truly call ‘clean eating’! 🌿

2. Be aware of what you buy.
Every time, we take a product from the supermarket shelf, pay for it, and take it into our homes, we make an active, irreversible choice. Don’t underestimate the impact you can make when you become a careful, more aware consumer!

For example, if you are a coffee lover like me, make sure to buy local coffee beans instead of imported produce, and from brands that harvest their product in a sustainable manner. Most of them have a certification sticker on the packaging from an independent certifier, such as ‘Fair Trade’, ‘Rainforest Alliance’, or ‘UTZ Certified’.

The same goes for products that are based on heavy amounts of palm oil. The fact that yield per acre of palm oil is up to 10 times higher than those of other sources of vegetable oil, palm oil production has increased rapidly over the past 20 years - and the circle closes: we are back at deforestation! So look for products that either use RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil, or - even better - none at all. Check this list for everyday products that contain palm oil.

In general, always keep the thumb rule in mind: Think global, shop local, and say no to plastic - and just by changing your individual choices during your shopping trips, you will impact the world in tremendous, beautiful ways, and save tigers at the same time. 🌿

3. Donate money, or virtually adopt a tiger.
If you want to go one step further, check out the following organisations:
- https://www.savetigersnow.org
- http://www.corbettfoundation.org
- http://savingindiastigers.org/partners
- http://www.wildtigerfoundation.com
- https://gifts.worldwildlife.org/gift-center/gifts/Species-Adoptions/Tiger.aspx
—> If any of you know of other smaller, more local organisations that do great work for tiger or wildlife protection, please do reach out to me! 🙏

Let’s make sure that we don’t turn stories about tigers into “Once upon a time”.
We already goofed up once with their sabre-toothed-cousins! It would be a shame if the next generation will know tigers only from picture books. Don’t forget: It is up to our generation to save the last of them!

If we don’t manage to do so, simply because we could not stop eating meat, adjust the way we choose soaps, chocolate or instant noodles (many of them full of palm oil) in the supermarket, or just don’t care enough to bother, tigers will come back to haunt us in the questions of our children, and snarl at us in our deepest dreams.

So let’s talk about tigers / write about tigers / sing about tigers and help to raise awareness, money and support for protecting those majestic and tremendously threatened cats from extinction (unlike these animals who disappeared forever in 2019).

In the spirit of these mighty kings and queens of the jungle, enjoy - once again - the wonderful music of Alice Phoebe Lou, and her tribute to tigers and dolphins. Sing along with the powerful lyrics below!

I am wishing you all a roaring day. 🐯

With love from Goa,
Isabelle 🌿

P.S.: Thanks to my neighbours Alok and Pia for their support and insights on all things animal!

Lyrics THE TIGER by Alice Phoebe Lou
You're a tiger walking through worlds of burning fire
But they put you in a zoo
In your dreams you were flying through the trees
But when you woke up you were behind a lock and key
So you looked up into the faces of the people staring at you
You said what the fuck are you looking at
I'm a tiger this is no place for my fire you're a liar
If you think you care about me
So you went to dreamland
More and more often cos in dreamland

You were King of the Jungle but in that fucking cage you were angered and afraid
That you'd never ever see the day that you could run away
You said who the fuck are you to put me in a zoo
I'm a tiger with a fire and I'll bite you in your face
Who the fuck are you to put me in a zoo
I'm a tiger with a fire
and I'll bite you in your face

You're a dolphin,
Queen of the Ocean
Mind of mystery a soul that is free
Then one day while you were at play they took you
And put you far far away
Where they train you for people's entertainment
You said I hope you are entertained by my containment

In your dreams you were flying through the sea
But when you woke up you were behind a lock and key
You said why am I here listening to your cheers
I'm a dolphin from the ocean and that's where I'm meant to be
Why am I here listening to your cheers
I'm a dolphin from the ocean
you should be entertaining me