We donate (not much, as we aren't loaded) to a few wildlife charities regularly, but Panthera will NEVER receive a cent of my money. The 'tiger expert' from Panthera (Alan Rabinowitz) is a complete a-hole (to quote my wife). He clearly is not passionate about tigers. He kept referring to the tigers at "it" rather than "he/she" as many other charismatic wildlife presenters do. He kept referring to the tigers as man-eaters - as though they had a penchant for human flesh. He did not agree with the idea of reintroducing man-eating tigers back into the wild, preferring to keep them in captivity or, and I quote, "putting them to death". He deserves the title of a-hole, if as a supposed conservationist, he can utter the words "put them to death" as an option, when there are a couple hundred Sumatran tigers left.
You forget that Alan Rabinowitz has been one of the most successful conservationists of the late 20th/early 21st century. His work with jaguars, tigers, Asiatic and clouded leopards has lead to protected areas, including a tiger reserve in Myanmar that is the size of the country of Belgium! His organization, Panthera, is one of the few non-profits that look to new conservation techniques, such as corridor systems that will connect protected areas and allow gene flow for those endangered species. They also have scholarship programs to help educate budding biologists and to give much needed funds to scientists in the field. How could one not be passionate about what they do if they have done all that he has done? Furthermore, how can you determine from an hour long documentary the content of that conservation giant's character? You might think he's an a-hole but he's done more for the preservation of endangered species than just about any other person alive today. (Honestly, who cares about the pronoun he uses to describe the tigers???
At the end of the day, they are just animals). Panthera in the past has always tried to negotiate with the local people and rightly so, as
people will always be of more importance than animals (even if they are only in the hundreds
). Releasing proven killers back into the wild will cause some grief among the locals. Would you want to raise a family in an area where you know there are tigers that have had the taste of human flesh??? I most certainly wouldn't and I am sure the locals wouldn't either. If you knew anything of Rabinowitz's background you wouldn't be so quick to condemn; go ahead and check out some of the interviews on his page on the Panthera website and repeat what you said.
