To intervene or not to intervene -
that is the question...
Runti, the tiger cub fighting for survival
Pic: Sunette
Now seems like a good time to reflect on the year
that's just passed.
In January 2009, tigress Julie gifted us with 3
cubs, Sunda, Zaria, and Shine A Light. Hundreds of
people have walked with them, photographed them,
swam with them, and been inspired by their beauty.
These 3 ambassador tigers, have enthralled, and
inspired people from all over the world.
I said that we would only walk with them for a year,
but I have decided to extend this for a further 2
months. Regrettably, no children under 12 can walk
with them now, as they are just too big, and too
strong. Unfortunately I have also had to stop the
swimming as the tigers get too excited in the water,
and us humans with our thin skin, and high centre of
gravity are easy targets and get smashed into sharp
rocks.
Fortunately myself, and R100,000 worth of movie
camera have been the only real casualty this year,
everyone else remained unscathed.
A 400ha area is being fenced off and stocked with
game for Sunda, Zaria, and Shine so that they can
continue their hunting education and become
fully-fledged, self-sustaining tigers.
On the 1st November 2009, Julie produced 5 cubs, of
which 1 is white, and 4 are normal in colour.
At time of writing, 4 are doing extremely well, and
one, the runt called "Runti", a small female, will
probably not survive.
Runti, top, no teat for her...she is half the size
of the other cubs Pic: Sunette
Nature takes care of the species, not the individual
and the runt in a litter of 5, is expendable.
However, to standby and watch the tiny cub fight for
its life, is an incredibly hard emotional
experience.
One morning "Runti" follows Seatao, her father, but
he has no milk. Then she snuggles up to Savannah,
but once again, no milk is forthcoming. She comes right
up to my vehicle, pleading for help, but I have
nothing, then she gnaws at an old bone, trying to
extract some protein to keep her going.
Runti and her father Seatao
Runti and Savannah
When Julie suckles the cubs, "Runti" gets pushed
away from the teats by the bigger cubs. However,
there are long periods where "Runti" has the teats
to herself, but for some reason, she doesn't put on
weight like the other cubs.
Runti, Savannah and Julie (mother)
When "Runti" walks, she is hunched over, the back
legs are wobbly, the pelvic bones sticks through and
the fur is dull. The other cubs are now twice her
weight, but still "Runti" battles on and the
watching human beings are taken on a daily roller
coaster ride of emotion. To intervene or not to
intervene, that is the question...
I will end this newsletter by telling you a short
story.
I am in thick reeds in the riverbed below the den.
Julie is lying 10 feet away with the cubs peering
cautiously out of the reeds. Julie strolls up to me,
and flops down on top of me while at the same time
licking my face for almost 3 minutes before
falling asleep. The incredulous cubs decide that I
must not be of any danger, for they waddle out of
the reeds and begin to suckle. From my position
under the tigress, and not wanting to disturb the
suckling cubs, I gently place my bean bag on top of
Julies back, and then place my camera onto the bean
bag. Thank goodness for the reversible screen on the
Sony EX1, for from my position, I can maneuver the
camera to capture the suckling cubs. I leave the
camera rolling and there is a noticeable up, and
down movement of the camera as the sleeping tigress
breathes heavily.
As the 5 cubs compete for the 4 teats, one cub
knocks the camera off the sleeping tigress, and from
under the tigress I do a self-interview. The human
voice intrudes into the peaceful scene. Several cubs
immediately begin to hiss, and snarl. I go back to a
soft chuffing sound that I have learnt from Julie.
The cubs are instantly calm and one even move closer
to see if I have any milk to offer.
With the big, dark, dangerous eye of the camera lens
gone, the cubs grow bolder. One chuffs me from 6
inches away, and another breathes into my ear. Julie
remains asleep, and breathing heavily. Only 2 hours
later, with the hot sun beating down on us, does
Julie waken and move into the shade. Finally I can
move into a vertical position. One of the most
incredible film shoots is over.
The feeling is indescribable, I feel like I've had 3
massages, meditated, and done yoga for an hour. My
spiritual body has gone to heaven (or am I in
heaven?). I definitely feel that for the last few
hours I have been in the presence of greatness, in
the presence of a higher being, certainly one of the
most spiritual moments of my life.
I leave you with this reminder in 2010, tigers in
the wild will go under 1000 and human beings will
exceed 7 billion people and www.jvbigcatsco.za
website will exceed 1 million hits. Thank you for
all your support and a successful new year to you
all.
Tread Lightly on the earth
JV
YouTube
Is there any possibility to feed her while
leaving her with her mother? Maybe little runti
has tapeworms or other parasites, that would be
remedied with "slipped in" medication? You can't
separate human and animal emotion, because that
language is universal, and I think the tigers
know perfectly well about your emotional
involvement and what you might or might not do
for them. However, I don't envy you for the
decision to be made.
It is now 1.30 in the morning and I still cannot
sleep- Runti’s pathetic little face and eyes are
haunting me and I feel so heartsore for the
little cub. The feeling is more than emotional -
at a physical level Runti looks like she is the
weak one that will not survive, but at a
metaphysical level I believe she is the
strongest. There are many ancient and modern
day stories about animals who have sacrificed
themselves or ‘ taken on “ energy to represent a
much bigger thing, even to the point of giving
their lives for it. My favourite one is Creda
Mutwa’s story about the Eland who went into the
underworld d to saved mother earth, at the
expense of his own life. I have had animals in
my own home who have died and in that moment I
have felt a the sacrificial nature of their
death in giving us a part of our lives back.
Runti’s situation speaks to me at many levels
individually and collectively. At a collective
level she represents the plight of all the
tigers in the wild who are not being nurtured or
supported because of the encroaching needs of
others, and therefore they are dying out.
Savannah, Seatao, are trying to nurture her, but
do not have the sustenance to do that. To me
they represent all the initiatives that are
trying to help the tigers in captivity, but
ultimately that is not good enough, only the
sustenance of them surviving in their natural
environments ( Julie’s milk) will make them
survive. The little cub is so courageous to take
this path, not giving up, trying to find so
many avenues to get help. Even though people
may not see it as this, at a subconscious level
it will resonate with them and hopefully speak
to them about what we are doing on this planet
when we are fighting for limited resources. I
think this video should get all around the world
as it not only a metaphor for the possible
extermination of the tigers, but also for
mother earth’s limited resources which cannot
continue to sustain all of us. Runti I applaud
you for what you have brought home to me and I
am praying that you will survive against all the
odds, but if not, I believe through your
vulnerability and sacrifice you will bring life
through your message. So John if you feel you
cannot intervene to save Runti’s life, you can
continue to share the cubs journey and then I
think Runti’s life purpose will be achieved
Conservationists don't just breed in order to
keep the numbers up, it's also about conserving
the animals way of life. If John were to pick
Runti up and take it away from it's mother in
order to save his life, he could end up being
alienated from his family because he's got human
scent all over him from being handled.
Even though they are in ... See Morecaptivity
they are still wild animals that will never
truly trust humans. It cannot be easy for these
people to watch,do you honestly thing they as
conservationists enjoy watching this creature
suffer? But it's just how life goes sometimes.
You need to stop thinking about the one creature
because the ethics run deeper than that. It is
really sad and we pray that Runti gets through
this, but there's a chance it may not...and if
that happens and you feel something needs
blaming, blame the people who started this mess
and not the people trying to stop it!
This song by the Parlotones - Perfect Place - I
dedicate to you, little tiger.
Tiny buttercup, won't you take my hand?
Tiny Buttercup, when you are feeling sad
Life doesn't go according to plan... See More
Close our eyes, take each other's hands
In a world filled with shades of grey
We'll color it up and escape
To our perfect place
Tiny buttercup, don't you dare look sad
Tiny buttercup, a smile's all I have
You say life is like a roller-coaster
It's up and down and you wish it were over
Just take my hand, close your eyes
We'll escape to our perfect place
Come on girl, take my hand
And close your eyes
We'll escape to our perfect place
Tiny buttercup, when you're insecure
Together we're the giants and our own cure
There's monsters, monsters everywhere
Just close your eyes, girl, they're not there
Just take me by the hand
We're in a better place
And we've escape to our better place
Sometimes, we wonder whether it's any good to
intervene if the poor creature can't help itself
and probably won't grow up to be a gorgeous,
self suficient tiger. But, on the other hand,
can we just stand and do nothing? I know I
can't. She looks frail, but - what the heck!? -
she's alive. Please, give her a chance. If she
dies because there's nothing we can do, that's
the way it is. But don't let her starve.
JV if you could give Jamu(the orphaned leopard)
and Shingalana the lion cub a chance @ life by
hand raising them, why not give this li'l one an
opportunity too??? I dont understand how is it
that helping this cub in distress is interfering
with nature whereas handraising the others was
ok. Come on JV you have done so much for the
animals over the years, please don't let this
precious cub be lost FOREVER!!!!!!!
Is the cub still alive - or are you going to
film some more for publicity and money? I think
you have lost sight of the end goal - TO SAVE
THE TIGERS - JV I CHALLANCE YOU - RAISE THE CUB,
IF SHE IS STILL ALIVE - OR GIVE HER AWAY TO BE
SAVED BY SOMEONE ELSE. MAYBE SHE WILL SURPRISE
YOU AND LIVE AND BE COME STRONG AND FAMOUS AND
MAKE YOU LOTS OF MONEY - ISN'T THAT WHAT IT IS
ALL ABOUT!!!
Denice - sure we all understand the frustration
of the situation- we all know also that what he
says is true ie in the wild she would not make
it BUT of course it is not truly in the wild and
instead of slagging JV off with negative insults
we need to appeal to his determination in
conservation and convince him to save the little
lady. ... See MoreRealistically anyway Julie and
Co are not in the true wild and so he needs to
seriously consider saving Runty - in the real
wild the others would have killed her if they
followed their wild instinct and felt she was
not stronge enough to live - even Savannah
protected her and was concerned about her when
she went under the Jeep - SO PLEASE SAVE HER
REGARDLESS WE NEED HER the least we can do is
save her in respect for all the tigers that have
died due to HUMAN MADNESS ie eating them,
hunting them, destroying their environment and
basically interferring where we do not belong.
Isn't the purpose of the project, conservation?
Sir, with all due respect, you might be losing
sight of that. I think the more animals in the
gene pool the better it will be in the long
term. A hundred years from now they can fight it
out like nature intended. Right now each life is
precious. Do your best, good sir.
I agree as well,,,,there was a National
Geographic I read once and it had a pic of this
tiny frail child who this photographer had been
following for days,,,the child was lost,, alone
and looking for food and water,,,the
photographer didn't help because he said he
couldn't interrupt what was naturally going
on,,,,the child died and then the ... See
Morephotographer ended up killing his
self....sad but true.....I understand what
photographers and scientist try to do,,,but they
have to remember lives are also
involved,,,wouldn't you want someone to help,,if
it was you,,or would you want them to get a
GREAT Shot?
It is your duty to save her, JV. This is a
nature preserve, not a wildlife documentary from
the untamed wilds. The purpose of this nature
preserve is to rebuild the tiger population
through artificial means, not to watch tigers
die due to nature.
