By Dr. Corinne Taylor-Smith | Project Leader
Four months have passed since our last education update—four months in which the need to inspire and equip the next generation of tiger protectors has only grown more urgent. Yet in that time, we have been unable to expand this vital work due to a lack of funding.
We urgently need more educational resources and community briefings—because without them, the very progress we have fought to achieve over the past 16 years is at risk of being undone. Education is not an optional extra; it is the foundation of long-term tiger conservation. Without it, the future defenders of these magnificent animals may never emerge.
And yet, despite how critical this work is, support has been heartbreakingly scarce. In the past two years, we have received just four donations for education. Four acts of generosity—when so many more are needed to keep this mission alive.
Every single donation is a lifeline. It helps protect not only the future of wild tigers but also supports the brave men and women on the front lines—those who risk their lives every day to keep tigers safe. Without education, without awareness, their fight becomes even harder… and the future of tigers even more uncertain.
Today, we are asking for your help. If you believe tigers deserve a future, please consider making a donation—whatever you can give. Together, we can reignite this essential work, inspire the next generation, and ensure that the last 16 years of progress is only the beginning… not the end.
We’re deeply grateful to every donor whose generosity gave us hope. But the truth is: without consistent support, we are unable to expand our education work when it is needed most.
Brave anti-poaching patrols check around the periphery of villages and across fields where deadly electrified fences and trip wires lie waiting for the unsuspecting touch of a wild elephant. But these fences and trip wires are indiscriminate administering an instant lethal jolt to the Tiger, Leopard, Patroller or even child unfortunate enough to touch the wire or fence and be fried from the inside out. We have trained our patrollers and equipped them to protect themselves against these lethal traps, and to deliver essential safety education briefings which advise against the use of electrified fencing as a deterrent too. We sympathise with the farmers who lose their crops to wild elephants and their livestock to wild Tigers and Leopards, but we cannot condone the use of lethal force. Eco-Friendly solutions are urgently needed, and our education programmes need to encompass what, how and why!
Fundraising is a challenge. We NEED YOU, our loyal supporters to continue to stand with us, now more than ever. Because without education, wild tigers will have no future.
More Tigers, More Villages – More Educational Resources Needed Too
In the last two years, our patrolling range has expanded range twice to ensure that young and sub-adult tigers who disperse in search of new territory have protection too. Expending this range added 50 more villages to our patrolling catchment area bringing the total number of villages within or on the periphery of wild tiger habitat to 155. Our education programme has also expanded to address the risks and consequences associated with lethal electrified fences and trip wires, but we still need to deliver our core forest safety education programme and infographic banners to another 50 villages too! The cost of this will be £825 (US$1130) and we need to educate the future generation of tiger protectors too. If you can help, please do as tomorrow may be too late! https://goto.gg/32565
More Help for Team Tigers4Ever Too
After 16 years of dedicated wild tiger conservation, our team on the ground in India is growing—but so too is the responsibility to protect everything we have built. Our experienced team members have given years of their lives to this mission, and now we must plan for the future while continuing to sustain our existing projects.
To do this, we urgently need additional support—someone who can take on essential administrative and daytoday project management responsibilities. Yet finding the right person has proved incredibly challenging. We need someone reliable, committed, and able to read, write, and speak English—but too few young people have had access to the education needed to step into this role.
This is the stark reality we face: without investing in people, the future of our work is at risk. A shortage of suitably educated young individuals threatens to undermine everything we have achieved over the past 16 years.
If we are to overcome this, we must act now. Training someone from scratch—giving them the English skills and support they need to succeed—will cost £3,235 ($4,435). It is a small investment compared to what is at stake.
With your help, we can bridge this gap—empowering the next generation, strengthening our team, and safeguarding the future of wild tiger conservation.
We’re Not Giving up
Despite limited funds, we’re still determined to act. We will:
We want to and need to do more. But without the resources, we must find creative ways to keep going. Our partnerships—with the Corbett Foundation. local NGO GTCS and the Eco-Development Committees (EDCs) of Sarmania and Salkhania villages will be vital as the wild tiger territory expands and more people encounter predators which they’ve never seen before.
Human-Wildlife Conflict is Rising
In the last year, we’ve reported tragic attacks by elephants, leopards and tigers, and the heartbreaking retaliations which have undermined the successes and progress in conservation we have achieved to date. These incidents are preventable. People can live safely alongside wild animals, but only if they know how. Education is key to this!
Forest Safety Education and school-based learning are the tools which build harmony. They protect both people and wildlife. They are at the heart of everything we do.
Education is Crucial
Education is the only path to a wild future for wild tigers. Without it:
In Bandhavgarh, education transforms lives. It reduces poverty, boosts employability, and fosters sustainable development. But many villages have no schools. Children walk up to 10km through tiger habitat just to reach the nearest school. Other schools are without desks, books, electricity, or sanitation. Some children cannot go to school at all because they don’t even have a pencil or paper to write on!
Education Empowers Communities
Education doesn’t just protect tigers, it encourages people. It helps families make informed health decisions, improves hygiene and nutrition, and builds resilience. It teaches children to value the forest and understand their role in protecting it.
Without investment in rural education, sustainable development is impossible. And without sustainable development, wild tigers will vanish form the very forests where we are fighting so hard to protect them.
Please help us secure a future where both people and tigers thrive. Donate today: https://goto.gg/32565
Our Projects are Connected
Our education work is part of a 3-tiered strategy which includes:
Together, our efforts create a future where wild tigers live in harmony with the communities which have protected these forests for generations.
In 1900, 100,000 wild tigers roamed earth alongside 1.65 billion people. In 2025, there were only 5,574 wild tigers left, and the human population had grown to 8.1 billion! Wildlife habitat is shrinking. Education is the bridge that helps us share it. ACT NOW because tomorrow may be too late!
The Next Generation of Tiger Protectors
Our current conservationists will not be here forever. If wild tigers are to survive, we must prepare their future guardians—starting now.
The warning signs are already clear. In 2024, we reached just 100 children—down from 820 the year before. And in 2025, despite our determination, we were unable to reach a single child. A generation is slipping through our fingers.
And yet, the need has never been greater. Our Forest Safety Education programme has already helped protect communities across 105 villages, while our antipoaching team continues to deliver lifesaving advice to anyone they meet in the forest. Through our collaboration with the Corbett Foundation, we are extending this vital work even further—sharing knowledge, resources, and safety education, including around the growing risks posed by sloth bears.
But the dangers remain everpresent. Tigers, elephants, leopards, and snakes all pose real threats to communities living alongside them—especially those without the knowledge to stay safe.
At the heart of this challenge lies a simple truth: education changes everything. Without it, the poorest rural children around Bandhavgarh may have no choice but to exploit the forest just to survive. But with it, they can become its protectors—safeguarding not only their own futures, but the future of wild tigers and the fragile ecosystems they depend on.
This is the turning point. With your support, we can reach these children, return them to education, and inspire a new generation to protect what remains of the wild—before it’s too late.
Your Gift Can Save Lives
Imagine knowing that your donation had helped to keep thousands of wild animals safe. That is the power of education.
Help us build a future of tiger protectors. not forest destroyers. Donate today: https://goto.gg/32565. Your support for our work is amazing. We can’t keep wild tigers safe without it. We hope that we can provide a brighter future for some of Bandhavgarh’s poorest children and future generations of wild tigers. Please support our education projects in Bandhavgarh by starting a new monthly recurring donation from just £10 (US$14) per month, if you can, as it will make a huge difference each year: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/education-saves-tigers/?show=recurring. It is never too late to make a difference
In Bandhavgarh, thousands of young children are growing up without access to basic education: no schools, no books, no computers, often not even electricity in their homes. For many, the future feels already decided, shaped by hardship and limited opportunity.
These are the children Tigers4Ever has always stood beside—providing books, basic writing materials, and a vital sense of hope where there would otherwise be none.
But we cannot do this alone. With your support, we can give these children something priceless: a real chance at a different future—one they might never have without you.
Because education does more than change one life—it protects an entire ecosystem. When we provide education packs and scholarships to children living alongside wild tigers, we reduce the pressure on fragile habitats and help prevent future destruction.
Most importantly, we empower these children to become the protectors of tomorrow—the generation that will stand between wild tigers and extinction.
Give a child an education today, and you help secure a future for tigers tomorrow.
Thank you for your generosity and support on behalf of the wild tigers, which we are keeping safe; on behalf of the children who we have helped to get an education (and their families who have food because of this help); and on behalf of the wider tiger community in Bandhavgarh, which benefits from providing books and writing materials for inclusion in the education packs which we distribute; and also the safety education training materials we are using.
Links:
By Dr. Corinne Taylor-Smith | Project Leader
By Dr. Corinne Taylor-Smith | Project Leader
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