Sanctuary Asia — January 2018

Sanctuary | Cover Story

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What an exquisite world we live in. Everyone knows, of course, that our planet faces threats, but what is

heartening is the manner in which large numbers of bravehearts have begun to look upon protecting the

species and habitats around us not as some kind of charity, but as the very purpose of their lives. Our

superheroes come in diff erent avatars – forest offi cials, policy infl uencers, lawyers, writers, educationists,

activists, scientists, orators, artists and children. These are nature’s spokespersons who are determined

and committed to making their dreams come true... of leaving behind a planet that someday will not need

protecting from our own kind. The Sanctuary Nature Foundation honours these inspiring dreamers and

promises to support them every step of the way.

The Sanctuary Wildlife Awards 2017

The Good Fight

Supported by DSP Blackrock and IndusInd Bank

LIFETIME SERVICE AWARD

We were in search of a true hero –

someone whose life’s purpose and

respect for nature could be held out as

an inspiration to the youth of India.

Valmik Thapar

Tiger conservationist, author and

wildlife protector

His formidable reputation and fi erce

demeanour match that of the world’s

most charismatic cat. A cat he’s

spent over four decades tracking and

protecting. A cat whose story he has

taken to the world. And so it is that

when you say ‘tiger conservation’,

scarce is the nature-lover who won’t

immediately think of Valmik Thapar.

Thapar’s love aff air with the tiger

began in Ranthambhore in 1976, when

as a young man he was taken under

the wings of that other doyen of

conservation – Fateh Singh Rathore.

Together, mentor and protégé spent

days, weeks, months and years tracking

the fortunes of the park’s tigers –

recording rare behaviour, documenting

unbelievable footage, and, most

importantly, creating and implementing

the management strategies that have

made Ranthambhore the premier wildlife

destination that it is today.

In 1988, even as Ranthambhore

began to fl ourish, Thapar recognised

the need to engage and uplift local

communities, and thus founded the

Ranthambhore Foundation, whose work

he guided until 2000.

Erudite and articulate, Thapar has

spent the past two decades leading

conservation battles at every level

imaginable. He has served on over