Against the backdrop of the dwindling tiger populations in the wilds, Tiger
Canyons was established 25 km north west of the town of Philippolis on the
Van der Kloof Lake in the Karoo of South Africa.
Tiger Canyons is the brainchild of John Varty, a South African
conservationist and filmmaker who specializes in Big Cats....read more
To intervene or not to intervene -
that is the question... read more
Runti, the tiger cub fighting for survival
Pic: Sunette
Savannah apparently understands perfectly well, for she
rather clumsily picks up the cub in her mouth and
returns it to the den...read
more
JV films in Julie's Den
Lioness carries Julie's cub in her mouth
Emotion is running high across the world regarding my
statement that tigress Julie is unlikely to raise her five
cubs to maturity, and if one or two perish along the way
then I will not interfere...read
more
Tiger, tiger, small
and white - A conservation maverick has put his
money where his mouth is in an attempt to save the
tiger from extinction. Words and pictures by Darryl
Balfour
Read more
At Tiger Canyons in South Africa, on the 1st of
November 2009, 5 cubs were born to Tigress Julie. Pictures by Daryl Balfour
10 Month old tiger Surderban, destroys JV's EX1 camera
just before the cubs were born...read more
Sunda tries to rescue Shine from the water
Tiger Intelligence
Tiger Rehabilitation
India's tiger country: Where anger
comes in on giant cat feet
By Mark
Magnier September 8 2009
A century ago, India had about 100,000 tigers, and maharajas and
British sahibs would dispatch dozens of them in a single hunt. The
maharaja of Surguja recorded 1,100 lifetime kills, many from atop an
elephant.
Wildlife experts say they're making progress against poachers.
Notorious kingpin Sansar Chand, 51, who, with family members, is
blamed for wiping out Sariska's last 22 tigers, is serving a
five-year prison sentence.
Chand and his gang reportedly befriended villagers at Sariska's
periphery -- Meena and others in his village of Indok deny they ever
made deals with him -- who then informed the poachers when a tiger
attacked their livestock, providing valuable information on the
animal's whereabouts.
The Chand gang reportedly worked with smugglers in Nepal and Tibet,
who used mules and yaks to ferry the contraband across the mountains
into China.
Chand, who often posed as a mattress salesman, sometimes
transporting the pelts and bones in the bedding, was first arrested
in 1974 at age 16 with tiger and leopard skins and hundreds of body
parts. After serving time, he eluded police for much of the next
three decades.
I
believe the fence at Tiger
Canyons is one of the keys
to tiger conservation. If
Asian countries are serious
about tiger conservation,
they will have to separate
people and domestic stock
from tigers. In Africa we
have done this very
successfully in National and
Private Parks....read
more
Death of a Legend
It is with regret that I have to inform you that the
famous Mother Leopard known as 3:4 has passed away at Londolozi. She
was one month short of her 17th birthday.
Tributes to Manana
Tiger Photo Gallery
I have formed Tiger Photo Gallery and I am inviting all
photographers who have visited Tiger Canyons or any Tiger Sanctuary,
for that matter, to submit 6 of your most interesting pictures to
Tiger Photo Gallery...read more
Tiger Cubs playing on frozen river at
Tiger Canyons
Shine, the
white tiger cub, Shunda and Zaria, the normal cubs, are playing on a
frozen river at Tiger Canyons
Sariska, July 26 (PTI) India, which is
home to 70 per cent of the world's tiger population, does not need any
fund, aid or expertise from the World Bank for conservation of big cats
in the country, Union Minister of Environment Jairam Ramesh has said.
Emotions have run high across the world with
many people requesting that I pull Runti out and
hand raise her...read
more
However, to standby and watch the tiny cub fight for
its life, is an incredibly hard emotional
experience...read more
Savannah apparently understands perfectly well, for she
rather clumsily picks up the cub in her mouth and
returns it to the den...read
more
Emotion is running high across the world regarding my
statement that tigress Julie is unlikely to raise her five
cubs to maturity, and if one or two perish along the way
then I will not interfere...read
more
Julie gives birth to 5 tiger
cubs.
I was able to enter the den of Tigress
Julie and film and photograph five tiny new born cubs, one of
which is white...read more
International Tiger Day
If we cannot save the tigers, I assure you we cannot save
ourselves, it is as simple as that....read
more
I have formed Tiger Photo Gallery and
I am inviting all photographers who have visited Tiger
Canyons or any Tiger Sanctuary, for that matter, to
submit 6 of your most interesting pictures to Tiger
Photo Gallery...read more
I found her lying on her back with her paws in the air.
Through the binoculars I could see an ugly gash on the
bottom of her pad on the rear right leg. The bullet must
have deflected off the ground upwards just catching her
across the pad...read more
My worst fears were confirmed when I
discovered a male tiger cub, caught in a strong wire
cable. The cable was tight around his waist and I could
see where he had frantically ripped up the soil in an
attempt to escape...read
more
Shine a White Light.
Three helpless, newly born tiger cubs, lie in the grass.
Their mother has abandoned them and they are at the mercy of
the elements....read more
Tiger burial. t was a solemn, touching ceremony as I and her surviving
cub watched her bury the body parts...read
more
At Londolozi Game Reserve, I am sitting with an 16 year
old leopard who I call "Manana", the mother.
She is probably the most famous and photographed leopard
in the world ...read more
Tiger Birth at Tiger Canyons
Shadow bit the umbilical cord, ate the afterbirth and
cleaned the membrane off the cub with her rough tongue.
For a tigress giving birth to her first litter, she was
doing surprisingly well.... read more
Invest in Tigers
This Newsletter is addressed to the hundreds of Indian
conservationists who have corresponded with me this last year....read
more
Tiger Courting
At Tiger Canyons, the two tigresses Julie and Shadow,
are in separate territories divided by a wire barrier. Each tigress
comes into estrus within hours of the other...read
more
Big Cat Safari
with John Varty
(Tiger Canyons & Londolozi) read more...
Elephant Trust
I see that the minister of environment of South
Africa, has lifted the moratorium on culling of elephant...read
more
Privatizing the Tiger
Thousands of tigers exist in zoos around the world, earning
money for their masters as "displays", while the tigers in the
wild dwindle away as human beings take the last of their prey
and home range...
read more
