International Tiger Day! Dia Mirza: Tigers represent nature and its many mysteries | Hindi Movie News – Times of India

She further adds, “The numbers say that the total number of tigers in India have surged from 2,967 to 3,167 in the past few years, but we cannot wish away the tragedies caused by human-animal conflicts. We have to understand that if tigers disappear from Earth, so many other species depending on them will cease to exist and so will rivers and ecosystems that derive life from them. So, what we need to do urgently is to consume less, waste little, create a circular economy, and do all we can to preserve wildlife habitats and leave the forests and tigers alone.”

‘Tigers need forests as much as forests need tigers to survive’

Dia feels that there should be far more emphasis on conservation and shares, “We need to sensitise every citizen about the importance of biodiversity, work with local communities, strengthen anti-poaching laws, repair animal corridors, and make conservation a part of mainstream conversations and even the school syllabus. I wouldn’t want my son and children like him growing up in a world where tigers can be seen only in photographs. Humans have been disrupting ecology. We have to understand that if tigers disappear from Earth, so many other species depending on them will cease to exist. Tigers need forests as much as forests need tigers to survive. If tigers disappear, so will rivers and ecosystems that derive life from them. So, what we need to do urgently is to consume less, waste little, create a circular economy, and do all we can to preserve wildlife habitats and leave the forests and tigers alone. They will thrive if left to their own devices in a healthy ecosystem.”

‘I was always aware of the fact that we don’t inhabit this planet alone’

Since 2018, the actress has planted over 8313 trees in tiger habitats, including in the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, Ramtek in Maharashtra and Sundarbans National Park in West Bengal. Talking about how her love for tigers began, she says, “My childhood was intensely rooted in nature. Thanks to the evocative Ruskin Bond books I read, the eco-sensitive school I studied in, and the garden we had at home, I was always aware of the fact that we don’t inhabit this planet alone and share it with many big and small sentient beings. What we can learn from tigers is the way they very naturally bring harmony to the ecosystems they inhabit by playing the role nature intended them to play.”
An avid wildlife photographer, Di adds, “I love photographing nature in all its diversity. Tigers are very rare to spot but I am an avid bird watcher as well and have countless pictures of different species of birds. Apart from their awe-inspiring beauty and majesty, tigers are an apex predator, and, in a way, they encompass nature and its many mysteries.”

Talking about her son’s encounter with the wild, Dia signs off saying, “Avyaan (her son) had his first immersive forest experience at the Panna Tiger Reserve in December last year. He now associates forests with tigers and am sure that the next time we go to a thickly vegetated place, he will expect to see another tiger!”