My niece and nephew, aged 7 and 10, were over with a friend to play ‘indoor cricket’ (a sport only loving aunts allow!). Their friend was wearing a T- 
shirt that shouted, ‘Save the Tiger’. I had just finished researching the topic for STRAW India, so I jumped right in to quiz them about what the T-shirt was trying to say. I soon realized that while they knew that it was important to save the tiger they didn’t know why. After a long discussion on the food chain and ecology and climate issues, my seven-year-old niece said, ‘That’s all fine but how can we save the tiger, what can we do?’ I hummed and hawed through it and realized that I need to find the right answers to that very important question.
So here is my list of how YOU can matter to this very important subject:
Build your local ‘The Bank of Tiger’. Collect money and donate to organizations like WWF India, STRAW India, etc. who work for the cause. “But how??,” did I hear you say?
The Easiest way - Keep a box and drop your pennies or loose change into your own Tiger bank, instead of a piggy bank. Pledge a part of your festival money every festival. 100 rupees for a new set of football cards and 50 rupees for the Tiger fund.
Have a bake sale, marathon or match in your colony or college and put earnings into your Tiger box.
Own your own Tiger! You can adopt a tiger via The International Tiger Project, which allows you to fund the protection of a specific tiger and get frequent update, live footage from camera traps, and more.
Talk about the Tiger. Fight the ‘out of sight, out of mind syndrome’. In the city people don’t see forests and therefore do not think about tigers. Remind them of the plight of tigers, why we need them and how they can help. Form groups at colleges, schools, colonies or even family. Do plays, write articles, inform through social media. But talk, talk, talk for those whose roar so that it reaches the ears of those who can help.
Give Your Time for the Cause. Support NGOs that work for the Tiger and visit tiger sanctuaries and tiger conservation areas to understand their situation better. Moreover, children can also volunteer virtually and physically with tiger conservation organizations like the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve., Periyar Tiger Reserve, etc.
Be aware of trade in Tiger parts. When we travel or buy things, understand if any of it is connected to tiger parts. Shun those products. Every penny going into the pockets of those who make tiger poaching a viable option, is a crime against the tiger.
Make choices that help the tiger, indirectly but surely. Your everyday actions and decisions can also help the tiger to live. When you decide to take care of the environment by choosing recycling, not using firewood, reducing paper consumption, and reducing meat consumption it all eventually leads to the improvement in the habitat of the tiger.
And if you live in areas near tigers then there is so much you can do. Clean-up and trash collection drives near forests and riverbanks can help in tiger conservation, as they ensure that plastics, cardboard, and other harmful substances don’t reach the stomachs of tigers, whether through the path of a stream or the direction of the wind.
8 year old Anis Khalif, raised USD 5,000 for the installation of camera traps in the Royal Belum State Park, Malaysia. Camera traps help keep count of and track the movement of tigers in reserves. That’s why she even won the Dr. Rimington’s Children’s Award.
So even though you are sitting far away, even one correct decision can make a difference to a struggling tiger somewhere. Know your power.
29th July is Tiger Conservation Day– you can make an important decision that day to do your bit for the one who’s pleading roars don’t reach your ears.