Tigers4Ever

Tigers4Ever is a small UK registered charity run by a board of volunteer Trustees who donate their time to help give wild tigers a wild future. This small charity operates in Bandhavgarh National Park in India. It implements community-focused tiger conservation projects such as anti-poaching patrols, educational programmes and the creation of new safe, permanent waterholes for tigers and other wild animals whose natural water sources have been affected by climate change.

 

Corinne and David Taylor-Smith founded Tigers4Ever in 2010 after a trip to India, where they saw firsthand the pressures faced by wild tigers and those that live with them face daily. Although still a very small charity, its work has resulted in a 97% reduction in tiger deaths from poaching in 5 years.
 
The charity now has a large team of volunteer trustees and works in partnership with approved partners and local communities on the ground in India to undertake the projects they fund.
 
Bandhavgarh has one of the highest densities of wild tigers in India, where forests and wildlife are disappearing at an alarming rate.
 
Due to climate change, existing wildlife waterholes previously replenished by rainwater have become dry or almost dry. Hence, wildlife now needs to look elsewhere for water, leading to increased human-animal conflict due to crop raiding and livestock predation. 
 
Our funding will go towards a new waterhole in Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh, India. The project will provide a solar-powered borehole pump system for medium-large waterholes for tigers/other wildlife. The bore-well uses underground sources to provide wildlife water year-round. Surplus water returns via soakaway systems. The charity installed 2 more systems in 2018 to provide water for 8 tigers & countless other wildlife. In total, their solar pumps provide water at 8 locations and provide water for 32+ wild tigers. This has reduced human-animal conflict in nearby villages. 
 
The year-round availability of water will save the lives of thousands of wild animals. In addition, it will lead to reduced human-animal conflict and contribute to the conservation of the tigers’ environment & sustainability through ecologically focused actions.
 
In addition to the waterhole projects, Tigers4Ever funds anti-poaching patrols. Poachers have jeopardised wild tiger survival for years with snares consisting of anchored wires with sliding nooses camouflaged along tiger trails. Their anti-Poaching Patrols aim to eradicate snares around Bandhavgarh so tigers can walk safely and educate local communities to change attitudes towards tigers/other wildlife.

We are so excited to have been selected as a finalist, thank you! Please vote for us, as this funding would help us to build a safe permanent waterhole in fragmented forest in Bandhavgarh National Park, India. It will give thousands of wild animals fresh water all year round, to drink, bathe in and play with their young. We are a small charity, run entirely by volunteers, and so can spend 100% of the money directly on charitable projects where they are most needed, rather than on admin costs. The forests are home to wild tigers, leopards, elephants, pangolin, sloth bear and other critically endangered species – but this habitat is declining at an alarming rate due to climate change and human impact. With your help, we want to restore this vital habitat to maintain its sensitive ecological balance."

Jonathan, Tigers4Ever
"Since Corinne and David set up this amazing charity in 2010, it's admirable what they have achieved with very modest funds. And now, with a bigger team of volunteer trustees and an increasing need for their work, they hope to have an even bigger impact in the future. Since introducing anti-poaching patrols in 2015, they have helped reduce wild tiger poaching and retaliatory poisoning by 97%. The introduction of water holes helps not just the tigers but other animals and local people too. What's brilliant about this charity is their balanced view of the issues facing the tigers (and other wildlife) and the communities living with them. As a result, they take a community-based approach that includes local people to create long-term solutions for the protection of the tigers for years to come."
Michelle Taft
Executive Director, Matthew Good Foundation