‘Tiger Express' was inaugurated by A. S. Jafry, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Director, Project Tiger, Coimbatore. The idea behind ‘Tiger Express' was to inculcate a deeper understanding of the Leave Me Alone campaign along with organising events. The initiation ceremony was held at Chandrakanthi Public School where Jafry gave a short speech to students, who were dressed in beautiful tiger costumes, on the importance of our national animal.
‘Tiger Express' was on the move for two days visiting over 15 schools where Mohammed Saleem, President of ECG, spoke to students about the campaign, the importance of saving the tiger and handed out leaflets. Students were informed about poaching, the fear of extinction and how they could support the cause. ‘Tiger Express' received a warm welcome at all schools by students, who were eagerly awaiting its arrival. Participants were greeted with notice boards decorated with drawings of tigers at all the schools. Over a 100 students wearing tiger masks greeted the ‘Tiger Express' with hand-made cards at the PSGR Krishnammal Nursery and Primary School.
All the students thoroughly enjoyed the ‘Tiger Express' programme and there were numerous requests to conduct it at other schools. The students learned a lot about the tiger through the initiative and will hopefully grow up to be Tiger Defenders in the future. Every session ended with a resounding cry from the students, “I am the voice of the tiger, Leave Me Alone!'
Source: Sanctuary Asia.Â
