Living with the Park, Ranthambore National Park

Ranthambore National Park, India is a haven for Bengal Tigers.
It is perhaps the most popular tourist destination to watch tigers in the wild. But despite the tourist dollars, the Park's main attraction, the Bengal Tiger is in danger of getting decimated here, as it has already happened in Sariska. Is it time we looked outside the park for the reasons, at the humanity which is living outside, their lives still connected to the Park- the people who are living with the Park?

This short film from WildBytes.tv, is a look at the popular tiger reserve as an integrated universe comprising its animals and people in the adjoining areas. The forest connects the two and neither one can flourish without the other. So is the policy of segregating the park as a preserve for animals alienating the people who lived in harmony with the park for decades, helping the Park? There are no quick answers. The camera shows people around the Park voicing their pride in and reservations about the Park. Is the Park management listening? For in the interest of preservation it seems foolish to ignore the distilled wisdom of people whose lives are in tune with nature.

The questions the film raises are:
1) Can we integrate life outside the Park with efforts at preservation?
2) Do the people living around the Park have a stake in protecting the Park and its animals?
3) Given a stake in the health of the park, a role in running it, will they develop a sense of pride and protect the animals inside?
4) Can conservationists help people living with the Park, see the linkage of the Park with their own well-being?
5) Will these people who have lived in harmony with the Park for many years, then develop a stake and pride in the Park and its animals?