Crowds, Bollywood music and celebrity tigers: Are Indian safaris getting out of hand?
When Arrowhead, one of Ranthambore National Parkโs favourite tigers, died of cancer, the Internet exploded with tributes. However, wildlife biologist Sanjay Gubbi, whose work focusses on the conservation of large carnivores such as tigers and leopards, believes that selective sympathies towards animals that have attained celebrity status, often because of their popularity with tourists, may be somewhat misplaced. He argues that tourists who enter protected parks with large cameras and have an immense social media following push for policies and management that are completely unscientific. โPeople may go on a safari and take a picture of a tiger limping or…