Valmik Thapar, tiger conservationist and author, dies at 73

Valmik Thapar, a renowned wildlife conservationist and author, died in New Delhi on Saturday. He was 73 and was diagnosed with cancer in 2024.

Thapar was involved with efforts to protect wild tigers, particularly in Rajasthan’s Ranthambore National Park, for nearly five decades.

In 1987, he co-founded the Ranthambhore Foundation to integrate local communities into conservation efforts and later collaborated with the non-profit Dastkar to help displaced villagers earn a livelihood.

Thapar also served as a member of more than 150 government panels and task forces, including the National Board for Wildlife and the Tiger Task Force, which was set up in the face of tigers disappearing from Rajasthan’s Sariska. In a dissenting note, he had warned the task force against the coexistence of humans and tigers.

In his 2012 book, Tiger My Life, Ranthambhore and Beyond, Thapar had described his mission as one that involved creating “inviolate spaces” for tigers, where they could “live free, away from noise, away from humans”.

He was a vocal advocate for stricter anti-poaching laws.

Thapar was also an author and filmmaker. He wrote and edited more than 30 books, including Land of the Tiger and Tiger Fire, and co-produced a BBC documentary series titled Land of the Tiger.

Expressing condolences to Thapar’s family, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said he was “deeply saddened to learn about...

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