Worth Even More Alive

25th February 2010

Read the latest on our Worth More Alive effort...

If you happen to see pictures of a Bengal tiger jogging adjacent to the Houses of Parliament in the next two months, do not be either surprised or alarmed. It is merely a training run for the big race in April and also a shameless promotion of the tiger's plight. It has been suggested that I divert through Chinatown in the West End, where they've recently celebrated the Year of the Tiger, but I'd rather not be dismembered by an oriental apothecary.

It is important though, that this fund raising is not seen as a fight against the Chinese people - just their questionable medicine and a government complicit in the trade. For anyone who saw the recent Panorama report on Orang-utans, the situation is not unique: the villainy of poaching has merely been replaced with the disgrace of illegal logging and governments in both cases are equally venal and corrupt.

The cost of a single tiger pelt can go for as much as £9000 in China, Indonesia and Sumatra. Their bones and penises are used in 'traditional medicine' to inflate the flaccid libidos of the rich and the misguided. Buyers for the body parts, be they teeth, penises or bones come from various circles, and they believe the tigers' symbols of strength, charisma and power can be replicated by digesting these body parts. It is this delusion that leads to rampant poaching.

Do not feel for a moment it is just India that has this cancer; just this week Channel 4 reported the following from Malaysia. The country of source may be different but the end game is the same, this is not pleasant viewing: Poachers. However, giving local people in successful reserves a protective ownership of their four legged neighbours means there is light at the end of the tunnel. I want to raise thousands with my marathon attempt. The money will go to helping ensure Bandhavgarh remains a tiger stronghold for years to come. As I train on wet and cold pavements in south London there is not a moment that I do not think of crossing that finishing line, suited and delirious, not only with fatigue but also with the thought of just what this money can do.

Tigers need tourism and most importantly our projects need money. They do not need d-list celebrities crying crocodile tears over them in gushing documentaries. They need passion and payment, which is what hundreds of Exodus clients have already shown. The generosity so far has been overwhelming. This money will buy solar lamps for the park, more patrol vehicles and crucially, if there is enough, a new bus to enable 'buffer-zone' villages to make regular excursions into the park, so they do not feel disenfranchised. This will all have a benefit for the local population, the tourists and by default the tiger.

If you would like to sponsor Paul’s marathon effort, please visit his Just Giving page

Anyway, enough of the soap box. Last December, many will remember the witheringly acerbic introduction the multi-award winning journalist Chris Haslam gave me at the RGS. I am thrilled that he has agreed to present with me again on April 22nd, three days before the race.

For details of the presentation and to reserve your place, see our Evening Presentations and Slideshows page.

This will be a stirring, provocative, sometimes harrowing but also uplifting lecture illustrated with many images. Chris saw his first tiger with me. Even this seasoned hack was profoundly moved and is prepared to help fight their cause. It is £10 entry on the door; it goes without saying that all monies from this and any sales of wildlife prints will go directly to the fund. It would be fantastic to have a full house.

Podcast -Hear Paul rant about tigers that are worth more alive...

Paul Goldstein