Hello Readers!!

   There's a new blogger in town...and it's me! Muwahahahahaha!!!!!! Just kidding about the evil laugh but the excitement is still one hundred percent there, and thus the exclamation marks will remain. I go by the name of Jizel (pronounced as Giselle), and as a new volunteer for the Nepal Tiger Project, it is my greatest pleasure to share all the exciting data John and team Nepal Tiger Project will be discovering while away on their adventure. I personally cannot wait to see and read about the adventures and findings their tracking tigers will bring and relay them to you! Being an avid fan of Panthera tigris, the tiger scientific name; I hope to do you, the readers, justice in telling this magnificent adventure and learning more about tigers as the journey progresses. SO let's start off with a couple of tiger facts, because ladies, gentlemen and all unassuming organisms this party is about to get started!!

Tiger Fact Number 1: Tigers are EXCELLENT swimmers! They love water, constantly seeking rivers or ponds to chill and relax in.  They are able to dive on unsuspecting prey from underwater as well as carry their prey through water

Tiger Fact Number 2: They have very strong memories. This coupled with their size and the amount of time they have been hunting large prey, makes them very skilled hunters.

Tiger Fact Number 3:  The tiger was first classified as a distinct species of cat in 1758. Though it has been around and hunting for approximately 2 million years!! That's a pretty long time.

Tiger Fact Number 4: There are only six remaining subspecies of tigers in the world, Bengal, Amur (Siberian is another name), Indonesian, Malayan, South China, Sumatran. The Siberian or Amur tiger is the biggest of all the subspecies, as measured by their skulls and the amount of folklore behind them. Amur tigers are also able to survive in harsher conditions were as their fellow subspecies would have a much more difficult time.

Tiger Fact Number 5: Each individual tiger has their own individual set of stripes. No two tigers' stripes are the same. The stripes are very useful as it makes it much easier for tigers to camouflage in their surroundings while hunting 

  And there you have it, some interesting tiger facts to get you started! Before I sign off, I want to let everyone know that the blog will be changing to a newer location on THE WEB, somewhere along the lines of Wordpress, is the rumor. I will keep you updated as I am, so you will know when to join us o'er yonder. Also, I am posting the link to the Nepal Tiger Project website, in case you want to learn more about the people travelling on this expedition, the actual project itself,  or if you want to donate- cuz let's be honest finding and trying to protect tigers can be expensive! Well that's all for me, until next time fellow adventure seekers

Adios!!

Nepal Tiger Project website: http://www.nepaltigers.org/

Tiger Facts information collected from:

http://tigers-world.com/facts-about-tigers.html, Facts about Tigers, Tigers-world.com. Date Accessed: Aug 25, 2013

Vaillant, J. (2011) The Tiger. Toronto, Ontario: Vintage Canada.

Three days and a wake up.

I am looking forward returning to Nepal to conduct more research and interview more villagers in the are concerning their knowledge of tigers living in the area.

On another note, I was fortunate enough to receive some last minute support from a few organizations.  TORG Outdoor Products (torgusa.com) provided a couple of day packs to help carry our camera traps into the field. The Freeland Foundation (Freeland.org) has shared their expertise in monitoring wild tigers and Takakp Sato with Tigers for Tigers  (.facebook.com/ecotakako) for sharing her contacts groups.

 Some organizations were are now partnering with on a humanitarian or scientific level include Project Doable (Projectdoable.com), Wild Tracks (wildtracks.org) and the San Diego Zoo ( sandiegozoo.org).

We can always use additional supplies, such as batteries for the camera traps, SD cards, inexpensive digital cameras, cooking equipment, etc.  If you live in the USA, your donation may be a tax deduction, but will nevertheless be greatly appreciated.

[ways to give: Via PayPal or Via Go Fund Me]

We hope to be sending reports back from the field, which will be posted on the Blog.  Jizel, from Canada has volunteered to keep you as up to date as possible on what we've encounter. 

Thanks, Jizel!

Tech

Last year I made a promise to the School Master of a village school near are project area.  Actually, I made a few promises to him.  The first was simple enough to fulfill.  Obtain a couple of used laptop computers for staff and students to use for record keeping and conservation education.  My old employer, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, came though today and donated one to the project.  As crazy as it made seem, computer use in this area is not common. So, computer training will also part of the commitment.  I do not want to make the school dependent on computers or technology.  I am merely providing a back up to their current records collection method (paper) as well as providing conservation education material. (Most of the records I observed at the school were mildewed.)

The other promise will not be so easy to fulfill.  Assist the village with finding a way to safely provide heat for the classrooms during the winter.  Insulating the building will help but, currently, body heat is the only source of heat in the rooms.  The winter cold is particularly tough on the younger students, making it difficult for them to concentrate.  Think about it. The school sits at about 3,000 meters in the Himalayan foothills...  It snows up there.

Ideally, I would love to have a big company donates solar collectors for the building. Any one have contacts or leads?

Floor of class rooms need improvement

Gutters need to be installed to channel away rain water

Monsoon rains are causing erosion around the class rooms

Village school

Soon....

In about 22 days, I will be back on an airplane, across the international date line, making my way into Nepal. After catching my breath in Kathmandu, I'll be  meeting with two local biologists interested in assisting with the Project.  Then its Preparation time.  Packing up supplies needed for a 25 day trek into the Himalayan foothills once again to interview villagers, document pugmarks (paw prints) and set out new camera traps. Twenty-five days may seem like a long time to stay in the field to gather data, but it is not.  We'll barely be able to set a foundation to keep the locals interested in working with us to uncover the presence of tigers among them.

 A one day car ride to where the road ends then a two day walk into the foothills to reach the project area, hovering around 3,200 meters. Not an easy trek for one who lives a sea level.

With less than 3,300 wild tigers known to roam this planet, less than 190 of those are believed to live on protected areas in Nepal.  The leopard population there is unknown.  The tigers and leopards I seek are neither none nor living on protected land.

In 2012, armed with four remote sensor camera, I came really close to capturing a tiger on camera.  But, as the saying goes, no cigar.  Two leopards, however, were photographed in great detail.

Follow me in September as I make may way back into the Himalayas in search of the tiger.  And tell a friend!