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Some letters and JV's response, will
be published on the website...
13/05/09
Why would
you choose to introduce and
breed an exotic species on a
new continent ? The funds
could instead be going to
set up populations, support
conservation, and reduce
animal-human conflicts in
places such as India and
China where tigers are
native ? Plus, there are
plenty of indigenous African
animal species, such as
gorillas, that could use the
help and a sanctuary in
their native continent.
Could you explain what was
your theory and what
inspired you to set Tiger
Canyons in Africa ?
Please do not misunderstand
me or take anything
personally . I am a huge
admirer of Tiger Canyons.
This question was only to
get an insight.
Hello
Hiral
Thank
you for your email and here
are my answers:
You
will remember Project Tiger
launched some years ago.
There was some optimism and
tigers even increased in
some areas. Now the
situation has returned to
even worse than before
Project Tiger. If powerful
groups like World Wildlife
Fund (WWF) and the I.U.C.N
Cat Specialist Group cant
save the tiger in Asia, then
I certainly cant.
I have
modeled my project on the
Arabian Oryx saved in the
Phoenix Zoo in Arizona and
now successfully returned to
the middle east.
Tiger
Canyons is halfway between
the 45,000 tigers in
captivity, and the 1,500
dwindling tigers in the
wild. To be honest with you,
I don't know of one Asian
government committed to
saving the tiger (this
includes India, and Nepal).
The
human populations in Asia
are so huge and growing so
rapidly that Asian
governments are more
concerned with growing food,
housing, education, poverty,
and fresh water for humans
than they are about tiger
conservation.
India
and Pakistan seem determined
to have a war, so further
valuable resources will go
up in smoke. With the budget
of just one day of the Iraqi
war, we could save the
tigers in the wild.
In a
recent interview, the
interviewer said "We would
never lose the tiger in the
wild", and my reply was "You
have already lost the
cheetah in the wild in Asia,
what makes you think you can
save the tiger?"
There
are more than 20 groups
across the world raising
money for tigers, but show
me the success stories, show
me even one success story.
The two tigers (Ron and
Julie) here have been
directly, and indirectly
responsible for changing
61,000 hectares of land from
domestic stock to wildlife.
I think you will agree that
this has huge value in
conservation?
It is
possible that one day you
may see the tiger, the lion,
the leopard, and the cheetah
interacting at Tiger Canyons
like they once did on the
Asian continent
I put
my faith in private
enterprise, not governments.
The black and white rhino,
and the wild dog have been
saved largely by private
enterprises working in
conjunction with National
and Provincial Parks. I
believe the tiger will be
saved the same way.
Therefore, large tracts of
land and viable populations
of tigers need to get into
the hands of private
enterprise. Asian
governments have simply
failed to protect the
tiger.
It
really doesn't matter
whether the tiger
sanctuaries are in
Australia, Texas, or South
Africa. What is needed is
money, suitable land,
suitable prey, a fenced
park, and a commitment to
saving the tiger. For this
to succeed, the project must
be viable. In other words,
it must not rely on
donations, it must sustain
itself and be profitable in
the free market economy.
I am a
cat conservationist so I put
my effort into endangered
cats.
Gorilla conservationists,
rhino conservationists, and
wild dog conservationists
will come to the same
conclusions, you need money,
land, protection and vision
to save these endangered
species. Private individuals
and private enterprise are
often able to respond
quicker than bureaucratic
governments can, and
therefore I put my faith in
them.
I live
in Africa, I am unable to
live and work anywhere else.
Africa has the best blue
print for saving the tiger
because they have already
succeeded with
lion, leopard, and cheetah.
Large, fenced units of
suitable land using
indigenous prey, with
research, tourism,
communication and social
economic components, run by
private enterprise is the
key.
Many
people ask me what they can
do to help save the tiger?
My answer is to find
suitable land for the tiger.
I have a blue print for
enclosing that land,
establishing the tourism,
the research, and involving
the surrounding human
communities, as well as
stocking the prey. I also
have a surplus of tigers
from Tiger Canyons which are
free-ranging and
self-sustainable. I do not
have the land, the money, or
the political connections
outside South Africa.
07/11/08
John
You are my hero and will remain so.
But you are one of the few among
billion people on earth.
The biggest culprit in this whole
episode of Tiger Disappearance is
"china". That is the most brutal
country for animals and their
existence. They live on double
standards. Look at this example,
they protect pandas so royally
(which is good) because they
consider Panda as their national
treasure but how shameless they are
that they go and kill other
nationalities treasure like tigers
in India, Elephants in Africa for
Ivory.
You take any trail of animal
cruelty, it will lead to China.
About Mittal & Ambani's, that wealth
is useless if not distributed for
the right cause. You ask many
millionaires and billionaires for
donation to election or human cause,
millions will be generated in flash
and ask the same person for $ 10 to
animal cause, sorry you will have a
hard time to generate even that
amount. you will find more money in
your own pocket than a billionare's
pocket.
Why because all these rich look at
Returns on Investments. What is
their returns by spending on animal
cause. ZERO, so why invest. Self
centered and selfish are the great
attributes that make many people
rich. These two attributes go hand
in hand with ultimate returns,
"increase in wealth". In animal
world one cannot be selfish because
animals suffer.
I wrote to Bill Gates/Mark Cuban of
Dallas Mavericks that donate 100
million in Africa for food but even
if they donate even 1% of that,
entire animal conservation efforts
across the world will be fulfilled,
atleast for short time. What was the
reply? We don't move in that
direction. I wrote to many
personalities in Hollywood, Business
tycoons, none responded.
I wrote to Roger Federer for vocal
support and not money. What was the
reply not interested. I wrote entire
South African cricket team members
never heard. I thought Johnty Rhodes
may be.
John - There are very few rich
people who donate for the cause and
these people are never in limelight
because animal cause and celebrity
status don't go together. It is very
difficult for a famous person to
associate and be identified for
animal cause, offcourse with
exceptions. Most of them are known
for having house on famous street,
or clothing & perfume line. Look at
Jennifer Lopez she uses animal fur
for her clothing line. How dumb you
can be not to realize that leather
is made from killed animal.
Sunil Potnis
30/10/08
We have
come to understand from your
mail that you are keen on
shifting Tiger Canynon to
India if an adequate land is
made available.
The whole
idea seem to be very risky
for the tigers since the
places in India that
are meant for the
conservation of the tigers
have become a haven for the
poachers. The same is
witnessed in sariska
national park which is three
kms from the national
capital of India. As on date
the entire tiger population
in the park has vanished
and a simialar fate is
awaiting for tigers in other
national parks. Thanks to
the callous attitude of
forest officials and
corrupted politicians,
poaching has become very
rampant in India. Even if
you wish to relocate the
project to India we doubt
very much that you would get
any support from the
government.
Hence, we
sincerely request you to
rethink about your idea of
relocating the Tiger Canynon. We
still feel the place where
it is currently located is
ideal for the tigers since
you have a strong hold over
there.
We look
forward to your views too.
07/11
Greetings from Minnesota
I have just recently found out about
your conservation efforts, and
really enjoyed watching your film on
animal planets Tiger Week. It
prompted me to look up your web
page. I really like what you
guys are doing, but a few things
struck me. First, I'm
interested in your fence, there is
very little information available
online about your fence. Is it
a complex system, or is it simple.
I'm a Civil Engineering student at
the University of Minnesota and so
I'm interested in silly things like
foundation designs, concrete and
steel, and how you might be using
these things in the design for your
fence. Is your fence complete?
If not, what stage of development is
it in? The University of
Minnesota wants very badly to be one
of the worlds top research
institutions, it seams to me that
your work could be relevant to a
number of different departments
here.
Thanks
Nicholas Johnson
Thank
you for your most
interesting email.
I
believe the fence at Tiger
Canyons is one of the keys
to tiger conservation. If
Asian countries are serious
about tiger conservation,
they will have to separate
people and domestic stock
from tigers. In Africa we
have done this very
successfully in National and
Private Parks.
Tigers
are good jumpers, better
than lions, so our fence is
3.6 metres high, with an
overhang at a 45 degree
angle. No less than 8
electrical wires are
attached to the main fence,
ranging from 10 cm from
ground level to 3 metres in
height. The entire fence can
be run by solar panel
energizers of it can be run
from main electric supply if
available.
I
suggest you contact Neil
Maclaughlin of Maclin
Fencing ([email protected]).
He is the world expert and
designed the Tiger Canyons
fence. The leaders in
electric fence technology
are a New Zealand Company
called Gallagher.
In
front of the main fence is a
1.2 metre trip wire. This
wire takes 85% of all the
contacts. It also keeps the
tigers off the main fence.
Be careful to keep all
electric wires high enough
off the ground to allow for
tortoises, mongooses etc. to
move underneath the wire
without harm.
What
is needed, is an
enterprising person (what
about you) to take the
electric fence technology to
Asia and helps Asian
Conservationists to fence
their parks with this
prototype. In this way you
would greatly assist the
last tiger populations
battling to survive against
the tide of rising humanity.
Please
keep in touch and I will put
you on my mailing list.
01/11
I am
interested in obtaining some
of the photos of the tigers
and of the julie and the
lion cub. My class has been
following the project for
three years.
D Radel
Tamap Catholic High School,
Florida
Thank you for your nice
email.
I
have a Living with
Tigers DVD and I have 3
tiger conservation
T-shirts which you could
perhaps give to your
pupils who do the best
tiger projects.
Please send me their
projects, so I can put
them of the web site.
Keep up the good work
and give my love to the
kids.
23/10
Hello John Varty,
I am
student and i study biology
and anatomy of felines and
other large carnivores. And
i can distinct tiger
subspecies by their stripe
patterns as the stripes are
different in each
subspecies. I would like to
ask if the tigers in Tiger
Canyons are purebred? As far
as my knowledge goes, the ti
gers you have, are not
registered in any tiger
subspecies studbook and
their stripe pattern looks
like hybrid Siberian/Bengal
Tiger.
Tiger
subspecies are actually easy
to distinguish and i am very
sure your tigers are not
purebred bengal tigers. I
understand this because that
light long fur and thick
tails they are sporting are
an amur trait, along with
the wider heads and thicker
necks. So i assume they are
crossbred Bengal/Siberian
tigers.
All
purebred captive Bengal
tigers (Panthera Tigris
Tigris or Panthera Tigris
bengalensis), are located in
zoos of India, with the
exception of a Bengal
tigress located in North
America. And your tigers are
from Bowmanvile Zoo in
Canada, where no purebred
Bengal Tigers exist. So am i
right to guess that neither
of your tigers are purebred?
As a conservationist, you
should understand that there
is no conservation value to
breed hybrid tigers. And
plus, it isn't legal to
release crossbred tigers
into the wild anywhere
according to my knowledge.
Anyway, i also
heard about Andrew Kitchener's
theory of tiger subspecies.
According to his theory, "Within
any given subspecies, there is
variation in size and coloring
from individual to individual,
and there is often overlap in
morphology between subspecies,
but the tiger has adapted to
cope with the different
habitats, climates and available
prey. The most northerly animals
are generally larger, paler, and
have thick, shaggy coats to cope
with the cold, while the
southern animals, which live in
dense jungle and intense heat,
are smaller, darker, and have
shorter fur."
But there is a
flaw in this. If South China or
Indochinese tiger is considered
the same subspecies as a
siberian tiger, then why don't
they grow as huge as the
siberian tiger in captivity
where they live in similar
living conditions as their large
cousins? And why is there such a
big difference between stripe
patterns of each subspecies? Up
till now the "Official" list of
subspecies of tigers are 9
subspecies, not 3. Andrew
Kitchener's theory is rejected.
Leo (Southern
Asia)
Hello
Leo. Thank you for your
interesting email.
It
seems the tigers are like
leopards. In the mountains
of South Africa occurs a
smaller leopard. In the
Negev desert in Israel, I
saw very light coloured
small leopards. In the
Aberdares in Kenya, some
dark and even black
leopards. At Londolozi, the
coat patterns of leopards
can vary depending on the
gene line.
You
should correspond with
Natasha de Woronin ([email protected]).
She is able to tell from the
leopard coat pattern which
family tree it's from.
However, they are all one
species with local
adaptations.
Tiger
Canyons is first and
foremost an experiment. The
experiment is based on the
latest molecular research,
which has all mainland
tigers as one species
(Panthera tigris tigris -
The Asian Tiger)
All
the tigers at Tiger Canyons
are white gene carriers and
one of the experiments being
conducted, is to do cub
relocations. This involves
taking a young cub from a
captive tigress and
introducing it into wild
tigress's litter.
Because tigers in Asia are
today so fragmented, the
natural dispersal no longer
occurs. There are simply too
many people and too much
tiger homerange has been
lost.
If I
were to breed a white cub, I
would not hesitate to
introduce it into a wild
litter, if a suitable
tigress can be found.
The
park would of course have to
be safe and the country
concerned, have a government
which is committed to tiger
conservation. The logical
question is would the wild
tigress kill a cub of
different colour.
Recently, I successfully
introduced a brown lion cub
into a tiger litter, so I
believe it is entirely
possible if done right.
Should
a white cub be raised in the
wilds, I believe it would
greatly help
conservationists save the
park in question. The only
wild tiger in the wilds
would indeed be a treasure
that no government could
ignore. Therefore, my policy
is to do cub relocation to
increase genetic diversity
and if luck plays her hand,
to relocate a white cub as a
political maneuver to create
world awareness to the
plight of the tiger.
The
Tiger Canyons experiment has
large hunting areas where
the tigers are free ranging
and self sustaining, but
have interleading gates to
that I am able to shift the
males from one area to
another and so get the best
possible cross breeding and
produce the strongest
offspring that I can.
One
other point that is
interesting, is that Tiger
Canyons can go below 0
degrees in the winter with
occasional snow. In the
summer, it can go 40 degrees
Celsius. To combat the hot
and the cold, tigers have a
summer and winter coat. In
winter it's thick and shaggy
and in summer, it slims down
to a fine coat rather like a
lion.
With
Julie raising a lion, I am
often able to compare the
two qualities of camouflage
between lion and tiger. The
lion is very effective in
the brown grass which
dominates at Tiger Canyons
and tigers are very
effective in the dappled
light of the riverine bush.
In the rocky outcrops, they
are both exceedingly
effective.
In the
Karoo and through to the
Kalahari, a very light,
almost white grass
dominates. Lion cubs in
these areas tend to be very
light to camouflage with the
grass. In Kruger Park,
Londolozi area Themedia
trianda - oat grass -
dominates an lion cubs in
this area are a tan colour
and more spotted.
Shingalana, an orphaned lion
cub which I found at
Londolozi, was a reddish tan
colour, while Savannah, who
comes from a Kalahari gene
line, is much lighter.
Isn't
it wonderful how nature
provides for every niche,
yet they are all one species
of lion.
I will
put you on my mailing list
and keep the interesting
emails coming. This is why
we have web sites.
16/10
Dear
Mr. Varty
I felt I had
to write after watching the film
on the discovery channel called
A Secret life.
Whilst a
commend your efforts, something
in this film had a profound
effect on me, at first I
couldn't quite put my finger at
what had angered me as I never
had felt this way about a nature
film before. It may be that I
am ignorant as I have only seen
animals in zoos and maybe I
don't fully understand these
majestic animals although I have
a wary respect for them and I
have only seen one film that you
have made.
I am certainly
not asking you to justify
yourself I don't feel
worthy enough, and I am not
trying to disrespect you in
anyway. So please do not take my
comments as a form of disrespect
this is not my intention but I
just want to understand.
I am not an
animal activist, or affiliated
with any kind of association I
am just a member of the public
that watched a film.
The first few
minutes of the film I found
uncomfortable because you were
a hunter who was left this land,
to make money, you switched from
being a hunter to having a
safari - so in the first
instance you didn't really
do this for the love of the
animals but to keep the land
that you inherited. Ok I can
understand this you have to do
what is necessary to keep what's
yours but how easy was it to
make the transition from hunter
to animal conservationist? Was
this a difficult transition to
make because from the film it
looked quite easy.
Secondly, you
started to film, for many years,
a big cat and even intruded when
one of her cubs died. You
disrespected her boundaries and
she charged at you. I am sure
you would have felt the same way
if someone had intruded on a
private moment that you were
having.
Then you
started interacting with these
animals when you raised a lion
cub. This seemed like a total
experiment on your part with no
real thought of
the consequences. The lion could
then not be accepted into a pack
because of her interaction or
dependency on you.
Now you are
"experimenting with tigers" and
this gets me a little worried.
I have seen pictures of you
interacting with big cats,
almost like they were pets.
I can't help
but question - is this right? Is
this right that man should
be allowed to experiment and
interact with these wild big
cats in this way - what
consequence will become of this?
I can understand you wanting to
help but is it right to have so
much interaction in this way?
Man is the biggest cause of
destruction with wars and now
global warming. Could
your interaction be affecting
these animals?
I understand
that we have to understand these
animals but why can't this
be done at a distance through
observation? I understand that
we need to help but why do you
need to interact with them?
Now you bought
Tigers to Africa to experiment
on, with I feel, no
serious thought to the
consequence that may come from
this. I know there are
few tigers in Asia but rather
than bring them to Africa - why
couldn't there be a program
where Tigers could bread and
have a reservation in Asia?
By bringing
the Tigers to Africa what is are
you trying to achieve?
What effect does this have to
the environment? What effect
would this have to the food
chain in Africa? And is this
going to stress Tigers by taking
them out there natural
environment?
There are
enough big cats in Africa and
there is balance. In life there
is always a balance, there is
always a reason for the way
things are. By bringing Tigers
into this balance this will
upset the balance - next we
will be trying to save impala's
and types of deer and zebra's
etc because if we integrate
Tigers into Africa there will
not be enough food to go around.
And what gives
you the right to experiment on
these tigers and to take
them from their natural
habitat?
I understand
that you have a passion for big
cats and you want to save
each and every one of them and I
fully commend you for that and I
respect what you are trying to
do, but I have to ask is this
the right way to do it? Is it
right to have this interaction
with them when normally they
would not interact with humans
at all? Is right to take Tigers
out of the natural habitat and
introduce them to Africa where
the balance/food chain will
be disturbed? Surely a bigger
challenge would be to try to
save tigers in their natural
habitat.
The film
raised a lot of questions for
me. I have seen a lot of nature
type shows where we are just
interacting with dangerous
animals far too much. These
animals are stressed enough with
their environment and being
observed and now we feel the
need to interact with them I
don't think we/humans should
have the right to do this.
I would like
to thank you for the time you
have taken to read my letter
and I hope my comments did not
upset or offend you in anyway. I
truly hope that you succeed in
your efforts.
Respectfully
yours.
Lorna Joseph
Thank you for your
interesting E-mail,
this is exactly why
I have a web site -
to share ideas with
people like
you around the
world.
I grew up as a
hunter. My
grandfather and my
father were both
hunters. In fact my
grandfather's love
of hunting caused
the now famous Sabi
Sand Private Game
Reserve to be formed
in 1926 in South
Africa.
The famous Londolozi
Game Reserve, which
I co-own with my
brother, is part of
the Sabi Sand Game
Reserve and
is well-known for
its leopard
populations.
As I traveled
through my own
evolution, I
rejected the killing
of animals for sport
and turned in 1983
to make wild life
films carrying
powerful
conservation
messages.
I have made more
than 30 films for
Discovery, National
Geographic, BBC and
Turner Productions
amongst others.
After the film
"Living with Tigers"
showed in 106
countries, 330 000
hits were recorded
on the Tiger Web
Site. This shows the
concern for tigers
world wide and
inspires me to carry
on with the project.
I have seen many
African and
Asian countries
destroy hundreds of
thousands of
hectares of
natural habitat and
convert it to
agriculture to feed
the expanding human
populations.
South Africa is one
of the few countries
where private
individuals can own
the wildlife. By
making wildlife
profitable, South
Africa has been able
to expand its areas
under wildlife, in
contrast to other
countries whose wild
areas are
diminishing. "If it
pays, it stays " is
a catch phase used
in South Africa to
describe the
sustainability of
wildlife.
Regarding the
intrusion of the
mother leopard -
your point is well
taken. At Londolozi,
every night, we
shine spotlights in
leopards eyes,
follow them when
they try to hunt and
visit their den site
to view their cubs.
We inconvenience
them for a limited
time each day. In
return we provide
them with an ideal
habitat, plenty of
prey and protection
from poachers and
hunters.
It is a symbiotic
relationship so to
speak and long may
it survive.
Many times I have
overstepped the
intrusion boundary
and regretted
it afterwards. On
one accession after
messing up a leopard
hunt, I stopped
filming leopards
completely.
The lion cub
Shingalana, was an
orphan. Lionesses
don't raise single
cubs.
As a filmmaker, I
could have simple
waited for a hyena
to come along and
kill the cub and
shot a dramatic
sequence. Instead I
rescued her and
spend 4 years with
her in the bush at
Londolozi and in
Zambia's Luangwa
Valley.
Shingalana taught me
not only about
lions, but about
life itself.
The entire Zambian
cabinet came to
visit Shingalana at
our camp and at that
meeting, I was
invited to write the
first privatization
of Zambian National
Parks for the
government. I like
to think that this
document changed the
course of
conservation in
Zambia. A great deal
of thought,
commitment and a
great deal of
knowledge was gained
from the Shingalana
project.
Three times I nearly
lost my life in that
project. Once in a
helicopter accident,
another when I was
attacked by lions, a
third in a severe
attack of malaria.
However, if I had my
time, I would do it
all again.
Shingalana touched
many people
especially children.
Many cats, dogs,
pets, a racehorse,
an art gallery, a
restaurant and a
game lodge were
named after
Shingalana.
The tigers
experiment, and
that's what it is,
an experiment, is an
ex-situ conservation
project.
In India the tiger
competes with ± 320
people per square
kilometer. In China,
139 people per
square kilometer. At
Tiger Canyons in
South Africa, they
compete with two
people per square
kilometer.
The tiger experiment
is not an attempt to
bring tigers to
Africa. The tiger
experiment is an
attempt to set up a
model park, which
can be copied in
Asia.
It has a research
component, a tourist
arm and a
communication
facility which
communicates
the successes and
failures world wide.
In short, it is a
living experiment.
It has the most
modern tiger fence
in the world and
successfully
separates tigers
from people and
domestic stock. This
I believe, is what
Asian authorities
will have to do if
they are serious
about saving the
tiger.
In short, at Tiger
Canyons a
politician,
businessman,
conservationist and
anyone of influence,
can view a park and
take the ideas back
to their own
country.
In pursuit of
knowledge I have a
very personal
relationship with my
original tigers. The
tigers that may go
back to Asia, will
be third and fourth
generation tigers
raised by their
mothers, fully able
to sustain
themselves and with
a natural fear of
human beings.
Your comment about
the food chain is
irrelevant, the
tigers are presently
operating on an area
of 5000 hectares
which is fenced.
The energy of the
two original tigers
Ron and Julie, has
directly and
indirectly caused ±
60 000 hectares to
be changed from
exotic sheep to
wildlife. I think
you will agree, this
is a massive
contribution to
conservation in
South Africa.
Your comment about
human beings
upsetting the
balance is well
known and well
documented.
If you are a Gaia
person as I am, then
you will agree that
our fragile planet
is running a high
temperature and as
it seeks to
normalize its
temperature, it may
do this by greatly
reducing its most
notorious
inhabitant, human
beings.
Wouldn't it be
ironic if in the
process, as planet
earth balances the
books, tigers may
bounce back where
human being have
been removed.
In the meantime,
tigers need all the
help they can get.
Human beings have
created their
demise, human beings
must try to rectify.
Our time in earth is
a short one, I
choose to spend my
time in the company
of tigers. I find it
most rewarding and
spiritually
uplifting.
I hope I have
answered some of
your questions. Keep
corresponding with
me and I will put
you on the mailing
list.
06/10
Hi, Iam a big fan of Living with
Tigers. I was just wondering when
are the lions going to be released
and are you going to release a pride
of captive or wild lions. Are the
tiger counted as wildlife of africa
now. I am so happy that on the
30th of October all 6 tigers will be
in the wild. How many wild tigers
can tigers canyons hold. Are there
spotted hyenas and jackals in tigers
canyon. Hope everything goes good
Stephen (England)
03/10
I saw Living with Tigers last night.
It was a awsome show. How are the
Tigers doin? Bentley
02/10
Any prospect of introducing cheetah
at Tiger Canyons?
Great trip to Londolozi 2 yrs ago,
by the way.
Mark Vincent (Canada)
01/10
Just recently stumbled on your
website, hoping to find information
on the continuation of the Tiger
project (I saw the film on Discovery
awhile back....). I was afraid it
might have folded, so was greatly
elated to discover otherwise! I wish
I was able to donate a coupla
million bux whenever you needed it,
but alas, I am but a poor zookeeper!
I have got into numerous discussions
with whiny purists who are negative
about your project, and I have
defended it LOUDLY at every
opportunity! So I have definetely
enjoyed the website! Who knows,
maybe I'll inherit some money or win
a lottery or something.......
Lane Batot (N. C., U.S.A.)
24/09
Hi this is steven I am 15 years old
and from london Will the tigers
becounted as wildlife (because if
they where would'nt it make them the
largest predators in africa) and
when I get older I want to become a
wildlife photographer a I want to
photography wild apex predators and
I wanted to know if there would be a
wild poplation of tigers in africa
I also think that it would be
intesting to add spotted hyenas
(since you may add lions and cheetah
to see the intereaction between the
species) it would be intesting to
see if the hyenas will displace The
big male tiger Ron, because they
usually don't attack male lions. But
it may be to dangerous for the lone
female tiger a cubs. I think what
you are doing is great.
24/09
My girlfriend an me will marry next
year and we will then spend our
holiday in Southern Africa. I have
been to Africa during my studies a
few times but she hasn't been there
yet. I love the nature there and I
want to show her my second love
after her.
I am working as a
mathematician but besides maths I
have also studied biology. I wrote
my diploma thesis on the aardvark.
There didn't exist an encyclopaedic
description of the biology of the
aardvark before and I have written
one. Therefore I did a lot of
literature research and also I run a
survey with African game parks and
zoos keeping aardvarks. Even though
I have tried hard to find an
aardvark on my journeys to Southern
Africa, I wasn't lucky enough to
encounter one. I was, however, lucky
enough to have plenty of other rare
sightings. Now I started to plan the
route for our trip to Africa. As
said it will be our honeymoon. The
first trip to Africa together but also the last one as I guess, for
its a quite expensive activity.
Yesterday evening
we watched a German documentation
called 'tigers in Africa' and we
were very impressed by the pictures
we saw. It's a very interesting
experiment. We would like to visit
your tigers on our trip so thats why
I contact you. We will come to
Africa about July next year
(2008). So my questions are as
follows:
- On your homepage
I found you organize gamedrives. How
long do they last, when do you go
out, how much do they cost?
- Are the tigers
still radio-collared? If not, is it
like in other gameparks where you
might be lucky to see some predators
or you wont. Do you know their
habits and therefore find them
regularly? So what about the chances
to find them?
- How long should
we stay to have good chances to have
some impressive moments with the
tigers and to get some nice shots?
- You will surely
excuse me, but I have to ask: Are
there aardvarks in the park? Is
there any chance to encounter one on
our stay?
Just in case you
have interest to glance at my
thesis on the aardvark (it's written
in English) you can download it at
http://www.tierseiten.com/roehrenzaehner/aardvark.pdf
Thank you very
much in advance and I already look
forward to your answer.
All the best,
Joachim Knoethig
(you can name me Joe – that’s
easier)
Germany
Hello Joe
Thank
you for your interesting
email. The success of a big
predator, is the ability to
survive on smaller prey
between the big kills.
In the
Masai Mara, the lions feast
off wildebeest during the
times if the migration and
when the migration is over,
hunting becomes more
difficult. Now they shift to
smaller prey like warthog to
sustain themselves.
At
Tiger Canyons, Julie the
best hunter, has been very
successful with wildebeest
and blesbuck, but in between
these big kills, she has
successfully caught
aardvark.
Weighing over 30 lbs, the
meat is a delicacy and
provides more than a snack
for a hungry tiger. Tiger
Canyons is in the heart of
prime aardvark range and
there are many aardvark
burrows scattered around
Tiger Canyons.
Aardvark are hard on fences
and if the electric fence is
not working, they will
simply burrow under the
fence. I have broken many
jeep springs when falling
into aardvark burrows at
night. Twice I have had to
walk out when the jeeps
simply could not be
extracted from a aardvark
burrow.
Although there is signs of
aardvark everywhere, they
are seldom seen, as they
emerge well after dusk.
Driving with a spotlight,
your chances of seeing an
aardvark are good but not
guaranteed.
I
suggest you contact Philip
and Lynne Richardson who
studied and filmed aardvark.
18/09
My name is Steven Kelliher and I'm
sure you get this a lot, but Living
with Tigers was my favorite
documentary of all time and I've
been awaiting updates ever since it
aired on Discovery in 2003. I heard
something along the lines that Ron
and Julie were taken back from their
large open sanctuary. Is this true?
I thought they were released into
the entire park at the end of Living
with Tigers...
Also, are Shadow and Seatao
completely on their own in the full
Tiger Canyons Sanctuary? I remember
during Living with Tigers, there was
a large hunting Boma before opening
out into the full park, so i was
wondering where in these respects
Ron, Julie, Shadow, and Seatao
were...
Also, is it true Lions might be
introduced into the sanctuary in
time?
My most important question (please
answer this if nothing else): will
there ever be follow-up
documentaries on discovery or any
channel cataloging these wild
African tigers? I know you said
you've been filming and at the end
of Living with Tigers it said "the
story will continue..." but I have
yet to see it materialize.
Steven Kelliher
12/09
Hello! I enjoyed the documentary
"living with tigers" and feel
passionate about the
conservation efforts being
made.I have been following the
progress on the jvbigcats site
and I think the Tiger Canyons
project is wonderful as it a
pro- active attempt to increase
numbers in a temporary suitable
environment rather than a
concrete jungle!
I am in the
UK and at some point hope to get
out there to visit. I would be
really interested in anything I
can do fundraising, raising
awareness I wish to offer you my
practical help and ask if you
would have any information I
could send to my daughters
school for a talking point (they
are the future after all). My 6
year old is already a budding
conservationist she sponsors a
tiger in Nepal and can explain
to her friends why they need the
money.
Please let
me know what I can do to help, I
don't have a lot of money but I
have time and dedication to
offer. If it is ok with you also
I would like to link this page
to my myspace page and ask
friends to do the same ( not a
huge thing but again raises
interest)
Sarah (UK)
30/08
I'm 26 years old and have always had
a love for all big cats. I would
love nothing more then to help those
animals in need. I have adopted the
African Lion and the Siberian Tiger
at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio, but I
want to help the cats who are trying
to survive in the wild, too. Please
let me know of any donation that I
can send to help Ron, Julie, and
other wild cats.
Elizabeth Falter, Dublin, OH 43016
28/08
A few weeks ago, me and my friends
visited you during our stay in
Philippolis at the Round Square Int.
Service project. Since that time I
am totally enthused and committed to
your project. I am 18 years old and
doing my final year at Schule
Schloss Salem in Germany. Since I
have only one more year left in
school I now have to think about
what to do afterwards. Often i had
thougt about taking a gap year
before going to university without
knowing exactly what I would like to
do - until I saw your project. The
sustainability, the takeover of
responsibility in such a global
dimension and of course the life
with animals caused my decision to
ask you if it would be possible to
work at your project for a year or a
few months in 2008. Furthermore I
had the idea to ask the chief editor
of Germany's most popular
intellectual weekly newspaper called
"Die Zeit" ("The Time") to publish
something about your project. Please
write me if I should try that.
Philipp Brix (Germany)
05/08
Dear Mr Varty,
I am from Singapore, a place in
Asia, where malayan tigers once
roamed freely. But the last tigers
were hunted down decades ago, thus i
have an ambition to be a tiger
conservationist, and to save the
world's remaining tigers in the
future.
I feel that your documentary,
"Living with Tigers" is perhaps the
best documentary yet. Watching Ron
and Julie hunt on the African plains
is simply fascinating! Looking at
Julie catching the ostrich is
extremly surprising. It is very
noble of you to undertake such a
task to save tigers, i am very glad
that a person like you still exist,
someone who puts in so much effort
to save an endangered species. I am
very grateful and thank you for your
efforts to save this asian cat, i
sincerely hope Asian conservationist
can learn from your project and use
this strategy to save the tigers.
Anyway, i have another question for
you. Are you going to introduce
African lions and African cheetahs
into the tiger canyons to study the
interaction of these big cats?
Thank you for your time
My full Respect and Admiration
Raphael Heng Siang Wei, Singapore
28/08
before a few weeks me and my friends
visited you whilst our stay in
Philippolis at the Round Square Int.
Service project. Since that time I
am totally enthused and committed to
your project. I am 18 years old and
doing my final year at Schule
Schloss Salem in Germany. Since I
have only one more year left in
school I now have to think about
what to do afterwards. Often i had
thougt about taking a gap year
before going to university without
knowing exactly what I would like to
do - until I saw your project. The
sustainability, the takeover of
responsibility in such a global
dimension and of course the life
with animals caused my decision to
ask you if it would be possible to
work at your project for a year or a
few months in 2008. Furthermore I
had the idea to ask the chief editor
of Germany's most popular
intellectual weekly newspaper called
"Die Zeit" ("The Time") to publish
something about your project. Please
write me if I should try that.
Philipp Brix (Germany)
26/07
Hi John
My hubby and I watched “Living with
tigers” this week for the first time
and were totally captivated by your
footage. Thank you for sharing your
passion for these magnificent
creatures with us. The ripple
effect of what you are doing to
educate homo sapiens is far greater
than you know.
I have taught in South Africa and in
the UK and have shared with the many
little ones that I have had the
privilege to work with about the
plight of the Black Rhino in
Southern Africa. Now, after seeing
your film, I will be adding the
Asian tiger to these lessons. In my
experience, children absorb, feel
and respond incredibly to appeals
for animal conservation. We will
certainly try and do our bit to help
spread the news.
With the advances in technology
today, it will be possible to share
your website with the many children
I come into contact with. If you
have any further information that
you think would help get the message
out, please send it my way!
Looking forward to seeing what comes
next from Tiger Canyon
Fiona
22/07
Dear Mr Varty
Being thoroughly stunned by the
Discovery Ch. Living With Tigers,
let me express my kudos to your
mission!!! Wonderfull episode!!!
Revelation!!!
Rare case to see
such a devotion and commitment like
youre. I am happy to know that Ron
and Julie are in such a good
condition after several years, and
to see the cubs, particularly the
lioness inserted! Description of
Julie's reception of the lion cub is
literally breathtaking...!
I am too far
and far away of any financial
possibility to support this
wonderful project, but I am praised
to write a few words to let you know
you are a truly big man!
I'd be grateful if
you could forward this to Mr Dave
Salmoni.
My admiration
and truly best wishes,
Zoran Mihajlovski, Professor of
psychology, Skopje, Macedonia
18/07
I was wondering
what the area is of Tiger Canyon?
Are the Tigers completely wild in
that total area?
Also how much do you charge for a
trip and everything you have to
offer?Fernando
Area 1 000
Ha
Tigers are presently ranging in
400 Ha and hunting blesbuck,
springbuck, impala.
Julie is raising 3 cubs and I am
hunting with them and atempting
to record sonar communication
during the hunt.
Prices
depend on what you want -
photographic opportunities are
terrific.
I am filming but sometimes
available to take individuals to
the tigers.
JV
15/07
Hello John
I found your website after watching
a Discovery Channel Quest (Ron and
Julie), absolutely beautiful - made
me smile and cry - beautifully
presented. Your affinity with the
tigers is obvious and the trust and
love they place in you is very
apparent.
I notice a number
of other films you have made
therefore will be searching for
those as well.
I see in your
travels you have been here in
Australia and I wondered when you
came out and what your purpose had
been here.
I live on the
Sunshine Coast in Queensland with my
two children and late last year we
lost Steve Irwin a crocodile/reptile
conservationsist and outspoken hero
on wildlife habitat.
I wonder if you
had the opportunity to meet with
Steve. It was unbelievable to me
when Steve died as a result of being
stabbed by a stingray bard whilst
doing what he loved and lived for.
You just don't think it possible for
somebody so absolutely alive to
simply not be here any longer. I
wonder if you have had any close
calls throughout your career.
I love the big
cats and the elephants and sometimes
wish my life had taken a different
path - like yours. Thank God there
are people like you in this world to
do what the rest of us maybe wish we
had done - make a difference.
I will be watching
your website with interest.
Sincerely
Vanessa Bond, Sunshine Coast,
Queensland, Australia
I had a
great time in Australia and hung
out in Arnhem Land with
Aboriginees who taught me a lot
about the Australian bush. I
regret I did not have Elmon
Mhlongo, my Shangaan friend and
tracker at the time who would
have enjoyed meeting the
Aboriginees.
I like
Australians except when they
beat us at cricket and rugby
:-)
I was a
big fan of Steve Irwin - I think
he did a huge amount for
awareness across the world. I
have been knocked down by both
lion and tiger and crashed in a
helicopter during my work.
Unlike Steve, I have been one of
the lucky ones.
My advise
to you, Vanessa, is to take your
2 kids and follow your dream and
your passion. My daughter,
Savannah, spent the first 6
years of her life in Kenya and
Zambia with her own teacher.
The bush
will teach them and enrich you
more than any school can.
Love,
Light and Peace
JV (call me James)
12/07
Hi I watched your documentation Living
with Tigers. Now I wanna ask you what
happened to Ron and Julie? In your
website I saw Julie with her cubs but
one of them is a lion. I couldn't
understand is it her cub or its a lions
cub and Julie is making mothership. I
saw no photos of Ron I wish nothing bad
happened to him.
10/07
I love the story of
Ron and Julie. My two boys age 5yrs and
9yrs. watch it over and over. They
received a set of Discovery DVDs for
Christmas last year and love this one.
We were wondering what happened to Ron
and Julie so I decided to look it up on
the Web. I could find nothing recent on
Discovery but finaly found your site. I
am so happy they are thriving and having
ofspring. What did you do with the cub
you removed from Julies litter? Did you
introduce it to another litter or are
you feeding it yourself and raising it?
Does the other man in the Discovery
special still work with you with the
tigers? Thanks for the work you do
saving the tigers.
The Saho Family
05/07
I was trying to check how the follow up to
producing the movie Living Tigers is going and
came across this site for adventure travel shall
we say.
I might be interested in
exactly what you are offering in the future, I
wanted to know if you have a site where we can
follow the results of this experiments of moving
Tigers to a game park in south africa
Sridhar (USA)
Results
will be on our website :
www.jvbigcats.co.za
24/06
Dear John Varty
My partner and I have just
watched the repeat of 'Living
with Tigers' on the Discovery
channel and we are once again in
awe of the project.
Having then researched the Tiger
Moon Sanctuary on the internet
we are a little confused - what
happened to the project? Were
you forced to change the plans
and move Ron and Julie to a new
venture -Tiger Canyon?
Does this mean that the tigers
are once again in captivity or
has some balance been struck?
We would love to get an update
as we are unclear from the dated
news reports on the internet -
and further more - it is my
partner Sian's 40th birthday in
January 2008 and she is
desperate to see tigers in their
natural habitat - is there
anything she can do with you?
She has been to India and
Thailand and failed to see any
tigers. We don't have fathers
who can donate millions to the
cause but would love to find out
about any opportunities and any
help we can offer.
We are not in the business of
wildlife - but we do work with
vulnerable and socially
excluded people in Edinburgh,
Scotland - to prepare them to be
released back into society in
employment and education!
I would be delighted to hear
from you in the near future.
Thanks
Jon Gray, Edinburgh, Scotland
24/06
Hiya John! My name is also Jon
(Jonathan), & I'm 16 I live in
the UK. My dream is to do what
you are currently doing now &
that is to protect wild Big Cats
and to rewild captive ones. I
think it would be an incredible
experience to teach an animal as
amazing and awe inspiring as the
Leopard & the tiger. It is all I
have been able to think about
for years! & I hope to come out
to South Africa to see and study
the wonderful work you have done
in the next couple of years. I
really hope you succeed in
training Seatao & Shadow, so
that they could breed with Ron &
Julie and produce wild white
tigers! To see a white tiger in
the wild is hard to imagine, but
I would never say it
impossible. I think that the
work you have done over the
years & still doing now is
incredible, you are my
inspiration and proof that what
I want to base my career on is
possible and achievable.
I wondered how Julie & her cubs
were getting on? & how they are
developing. Has there been any
obvious disadvantages of
inbreeding? & How is Seatao &
Shadow's training coming along?
I have a webpage on re-wilding
captive animals, and I hope you
don't mind, but I have put your
amazing story of Ron & Julie up
on my web page to show all those
interested in this line of work.
Well I'll shut up now, I really
hope to meet you one day, but
for now, good luck & keep up
your amazing work with those
beautiful cats.
Jonny, UK
Thank
you for your incredible
email. Animals will never
let you down and they will
greatly enrich your life. My
advice to you is follow your
passion and your dream. When
you finish school, Londolozi
(www.londolozi.co.za)
may be a good place to start
as a ranger. Here you take
guests into the bush on
photographic safaris. After
this experience, you could
move to the close-contact
work that I do. I suggest
you work on your
photographic and
movie-making skills which
will help you in the field
of wildlife communication. I
will try to help you with
all of the above.
Stay
in touch and by all means,
take anything off my web
onto yours.
JV
24/06
Hi, just to say how much we enjoyed
the TV programme about Ron and
Julie, and too, that I have found
this website and learnt all about
Julie's cubs. It's fascinating
reading and look forward to an
update on the TV. We particularly
like that we have the same name!!
Regards
Ron and Julie Griffiths, UK
31/05
Dear JV
It was a pleasure
for my family to meet you after having
spent years watching your nature
programs on TV.
I have been very
fortunate to have traveled around the
world extensively and have stayed in
some wonderful places, but Londolozi
topped them all. I am going to plan our
next trip out but would like to come to
see you and the Tigers as well. It will
be sometime next year so hopefully by
then your tigers and their cubs will be
happily ensconced in the Karoo.
Once again thank
you for doing what you are doing, my
children can grow up knowing that there
are people in the world who care for
animals with a real passion.
Kind regards
Rod, UK
28/05
Hello. I'm really interested in this
project. It's fantastic idea in my opinion.
I'd like to know one thing. Will be in the
future similar program on TV like "Living
with Tigers" but with Seatao and Shadow?
Marek from Poland.
28/05
I want to talk about saving tigers in our
state chhattisgarh (India).
Thanks &
Regards
Gopendra Dhar Diwan, India
16/05
Hi, A couple of years ago i watched a brilliant
programme on the Discovery channel 'Living with
Tigers' since then i have been scouring the
internet to see the progress of the two tigers
(Ron and Julie) to see what has happened to
them since and if they had eventually been set
free in to the African planes. Finally i
stumbled across the 'jvbigcats' and was able at
last to read the progress of the two tigers
since and see that the tigers are doing really
well. However I just have just a few questions.
1. On the programme the intention was to
eventually be able to set Ron and Julie free
into the Reservation to live life in the wild
where they would become independent and where
they would no longer have any form of human
interaction. However from reading on the webpage
this does not seem to have fully happened. I was
just wondering why this is and if it is still
the long term plan to release them into the wild
permanently.
2.And also are there any plans of a follow up
series. I have read with fascination the
articles about introducing a Lion cub into
Julie's little (fascinating stuff) and i would
love to see this on film and also like to
view events that have transpired since the last
programme and any future plans for the Tigers
(scheme) etc
Keep up the good work
Joe McDermott, UK
25/04
Are these the same tigers that were on the
documentary Living with Tigers? Have you any
information as to how the tigers are doing I am very
interested to see how they are doing.
PATRICK MCMULLEN, Dublin, Ireland
Yes, it is
the same tigers
16/04
Is there a
website available where I can find more
information about John Varty and his
ground-breaking conservation programme with
endangered Tigers.
Best
regards
Peter Lindback, Sweden
Yes,
www.jvbigcats.co.za
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