Ranthambore:
India's 'Tiger Man' Fateh Singh Rathore was cremated in Ranthambore today. One of the pioneers of ''Project Tiger'' to save the big cats, 73-year old Rathore succumbed to cancer on Tuesday.
As Ranthambore bid a fond farewell to Rathore, friends and conservationists from all corners of the country came in to pay their final respects to the man who worked tirelessly to save tigers for nearly 5 decades.
"I've lost my mentor, my guide and my best friend but India has lost the greatest champion of the tiger who used his common sense to put Ranthambore on the world map", said tiger expert Valmik Thapar.
He joined the Indian Forest Services in 1960 and spent many years as Field Director of Ranthambhore where he was part of the first project Tiger team. Widely acknowledged as ''tiger guru'' for his legendary knowledge of the big cat, he had the uncanny ability to predict a tiger's whereabouts.
In 1983, Fateh Singh got the International Valour Award for bravery in conservation. Rathore also received the World Wildlife Fund's Lifetime Achievement Award in Feb in Jaipur this year, where he made his last public appearance.
'Fatehji', as he was fondly called, inspired a whole generation of conservationists. "We have vowed that no matter what obstacles we face, we will move ahead on the path Fateh Singh showed us", said Dharmendra Khandal, a close associate and a scientist with Tiger Watch. Fateh Singh Rathore headed the NGO 'Tiger Watch' in Sawai Madhopur after he retired from the forest department.
"All I will say is that his loyalty lay with the tiger, and what the tiger represents as a metaphor for Nature," Bittu Sahgal, Founder of 'Kids for Tigers' said paying homage to Fateh Singh Rathore.
As Ranthambore bid a fond farewell to Rathore, friends and conservationists from all corners of the country came in to pay their final respects to the man who worked tirelessly to save tigers for nearly 5 decades.
"I've lost my mentor, my guide and my best friend but India has lost the greatest champion of the tiger who used his common sense to put Ranthambore on the world map", said tiger expert Valmik Thapar.
He joined the Indian Forest Services in 1960 and spent many years as Field Director of Ranthambhore where he was part of the first project Tiger team. Widely acknowledged as ''tiger guru'' for his legendary knowledge of the big cat, he had the uncanny ability to predict a tiger's whereabouts.
In 1983, Fateh Singh got the International Valour Award for bravery in conservation. Rathore also received the World Wildlife Fund's Lifetime Achievement Award in Feb in Jaipur this year, where he made his last public appearance.
'Fatehji', as he was fondly called, inspired a whole generation of conservationists. "We have vowed that no matter what obstacles we face, we will move ahead on the path Fateh Singh showed us", said Dharmendra Khandal, a close associate and a scientist with Tiger Watch. Fateh Singh Rathore headed the NGO 'Tiger Watch' in Sawai Madhopur after he retired from the forest department.
"All I will say is that his loyalty lay with the tiger, and what the tiger represents as a metaphor for Nature," Bittu Sahgal, Founder of 'Kids for Tigers' said paying homage to Fateh Singh Rathore.
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