Tracking the Tiger Trade I was dreaming of tigers when the telephone rang. It was years since I'd seen a wild tiger. But in my dream, I was only a few yards from a beautiful tigress lying in the shade of some bushes. A perfect shot. I was shooting photographs, of course, not bullets. The voice on the phone said: "This is Dr. Laohu. Do you know who I am?" "Of course," I said. "You're that famous tiger researcher at the Vancouver Zoo. Most people call you Dr. Tiger because your name--laohu--means tiger in Chinese. What can I do for you? " We need to tell the world what's going on in Royal Bengal Tiger Reserve in India. Two days ago a Forest Service field officer found a tiger in a leg trap there. And you're just the journalist to do it." "Me? Why me?" "You know your way around India. You speak Hindi. And you'll do anything to help save the tiger. Am I right?" He was right. But was I up to the job? I'd spent ten years as a journalist in India, photographing tigers in my spare time. I shivered with fear and excitement. Dr. Tiger had sent me on the trail of tiger poachers! When I'd been in India fifteen years ago, poaching was rare and tiger populations were well protected. But things had changed since then. Nowadays, it's estimated that one tiger is poached in India every day. Researching tiger poaching would be a dangerous business. WebEnglish.se 1
We landed in New Delhi, the capital of India. That evening I walked through the heart of the old city, sucking in the rich smells. Incense, curry, cow dung... I'd missed them all. I took a train to the Royal Bengal Tiger Reserve, several hours from Delhi, where the tiger in the leg trap had been found. At the Forest Headquarters, I found the office for an S.M. Singh, the Field Director and a friend of Dr. Tiger's. Mr. Singh's office was a dusty room with ceiling fans circling lazily above several desks. Paper--various reports, correspondence and files--was stacked high on his desk. "Namaste," I said politely. That means "Hello" in Hindi. "What can I do for you?" he replied in English. I introduced myself and added, "Dr. Tiger sent me to write an article about tiger poaching." Mr. Singh cocked his head. "Yes, Dr. Tiger told me to expect you. I pulled out my reporter's notebook. "Tell me what you're doing. How do you catch poachers?" Mr. Singh laughed loudly. "You didn't travel halfway around the world just to listen to me talk! To understand what we are up against, you must see it for yourself." "All right, Mr. Singh," I said. "I'll go with you." http://www.5tigers.org/adventures/handbook/e1.htmmr. Singh stood up and shook my hand. "Excellent," he said. "Meet me here tonight at 6:00. And call me Sanjoy." I was waiting under a banyan tree when Sanjoy drove up in a jeep shortly after six. "We're meeting a man named Ranjit," Sanjoy explained once I was in the car. "He lives on the other side of the forest reserve. Nobody there knows my face, so we'll be working undercover. We've arranged to purchase several bags of tiger parts from him." "What should I do?" Sanjoy cocked his head at me. "You'll be the foreign trader in tiger parts." He put a briefcase into my lap. "Open it." I opened it. Stacks of rupees filled the case. Thousands of them. I whistled in amazement. WebEnglish.se 2
"Look closer," Sanjoy advised. I lifted one stack of rupees and flipped through it. Except for the top few, all the bills were actually blank paper. After rattling along on the rough road for almost two hours, Sanjoy slowed the jeep. We came to a ramshackle neighbourhood. We parked in front of a small shack. Sanjoy stepped out of the jeep. "Ranjit?" he called out. Ranjit appeared in a doorway, along with several other men. "You have the money?" he asked in Hindi. Sanjoy lifted the briefcase. "Right here." "Very good," he said with a smile. Then he looked at me coldly. My heart quickened. "Who is he?" Ranjit demanded. "An interested party," Sanjoy said. "He wants to ensure the quality of the goods." Ranjit smiled through his teeth. "Of course." "Let's drive somewhere else to make our deal." Sanjoy said. "I do not like standing here in the open." Ranjit gestured to a young man with a beard who wore a shawl big enough to hide a shotgun. "Gopal," he said. "Come with me." Gopal returned with a large sack from the house. Sanjoy took it from him. Gopal protested for a moment, then let him put it in the back of the jeep. We all climbed into the vehicle--a very tight fit. With Sanjoy driving, we jolted several miles down the dark road. We drove in silence. I couldn't resist asking the two poachers a question. Aren't you worried the government will really crack down on poaching?" Ranjit laughed. "Crack down on poaching? You have nothing to worry about. There is no danger from the government. They are incompetent and corrupt. A small bribe here and there takes care of any problems." Sanjoy's jaw tightened, but he said nothing. I smiled privately. Sanjoy was one Forest Service ranger who couldn't be bribed. I was confident that there were many more. WebEnglish.se 3
As proof, I saw four police officers waiting outside their station as Sanjoy turned up the drive. "Betrayer!" Ranjit cried. He pulled out his gun and waved it at Sanjoy and me. Gopal, shouting, pulled out a stubby rifle from beneath his clothing. I shouted back at Ranjit and Gopal, but I had nothing to defend myself with. The police officers wasted no time. They dragged Ranjit and Gopal out and put handcuffs around their wrists. Two led the poachers into the station. Sanjoy opened the trunk and showed the sack to the rest of us. "Here is the evidence," he declared. "Two tiger skins." The policemen examined the skins and then turned to us. "You know you are crazy people," one told us. "Even we police cannot go into the neighbourhoods where these men live. It is very dangerous." Sanjoy slapped me on the back. "Yes, I was also worried for a moment." "I'm sorry if I endangered the operation," I said. "I'm used to asking questions, not holding my tongue." I sighed as the excitement of the evening caught up with me. I told Sanjoy, "This whole adventure has worn me out. But the trade in tiger parts doesn't end here and neither does my mission." Sanjoy looked at me. "What will you do now?" "I heard what Ranjit told Gopal -- tiger bones are worth even more than tiger skins. I've got to follow the trade route all the way to the end." Sanjoy nodded. "Go to Lhasa. Find a merchant named Tsering Dolkan. She's the next link in the trade network." This is an old story, adapted by Outi Frisk. No Copyright infringement intended. If you find the original, please let me know at info@webenglish.se. WebEnglish.se 4
Glossary sth=something, sb=somebody trade buying and selling things tigress a female (woman) tiger shade where the sun doesn t shine bullet the small thing that you shoot out of a gun researcher sb who studies to find out about new facts reserve a place where animals are kept safe field officer a policeman working in a nature reserve leg trap a man-made thing that catches an animal by the legs spare time when you are not working or at school shiver to shake a little when you are nervous or it is cold trail a track or road poacher sb who kills animals illegally (tjuvskytt) rare not common, you don t see often protect to keep sth safe estimate to guess how many there are suck to take in with a deep breath (suga) incense a small stick that burns and gives a smell cow dung cow s droppings (bajs) headquarters main office dusty has not been cleaned for a long time, there is a white layer on lazily very slowly correspondence letters stack (vb) to put things on top of each other politely in a nice way reply to answer cock (vb) to move your head up expect to wait for sth extinction when there are none left furiously here: very fast ranger a person working in a nature reserve receive to get constantly all the time bribe to give money to sb who lets you do illegal things briefly shortly banyan tree a very big tree growing in Asia undercover pretending to be sb else, not telling who you really are purchase to buy trader sb who buys and sells things from one country to another briefcase a businessman s bag lap on your knees when you are sitting rupee Indian money amazement surprise flip to move around quickly blank empty rattle to shake and make a lot of short sharp sounds WebEnglish.se 5
ramshackle shack ensure gesture shawl vehicle jolt resist crack down incompetent corrupt jaw privately confident proof betrayer wave stubby rifle defend handcuffs wrists evidence examine slap holding my tongue sigh to wear* sb out, wore, worn route nod merchant network old and shaky, about to fall down a small, shaky building to make sure to show with your hands a square piece of clothing tied around your body sth that has an engine and you can ride on move slowly and bumping on a rough road keep oneself from doing something to fight against something seriously bad at doing sth sb who takes money to keep quiet the area with your mouth, teeth and chin here: to myself, not showing the others very sure an object or a fact that shows that sth is true sb who breaks a promise to move from side to side, like you do with your hand short and thick a big gun used to shoot animals to fight back metal rings that a policeman puts around a criminal s hands the part between your arm and your hand sth that shows that sb has done sth wrong (bevis) to look through very carefully to hit with a hand so that there is a noise to keep quiet to breathe out heavily (sucka) to make sb very tired road or track to move your head down and up, meaning yes sb who buys and sells things a group of people around the world working for the same thing WebEnglish.se 6