Three years back, the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh had close to 40 tigers. Today, one two tigers exist, not the original striped denziens of the forest, but two tigresses translocated from Kanha and Badhavgarh.
An adult rhinoceros in Africa, during his late night walk, falls in a perfectly dug pit lined with spikes to die a slow and painful death. Another rhino in India touches a cable wire that sends 11 kilowatts jolt through its massive body, electrocuting it. Their horns are pulled out. Price of each horn: US$450,000
The Chinese Giant Salamader (Andrias davidianus) is an amphibian that has seen it all happen. Pre dating even the Tyrannosaurus rex, the largest living amphibian known to man is finding it quite difficult to escape extinction. Commonly found in aquatic habitats in the United States, China and Japan, it is quite uncommon nowadays to spot them, a sad testimony to man’s mindless destruction of eco habitat.