Endangered Tiger Blog "a Tiger Journal" Interviews Sharon Guynup, Co-author of "Tigers Forever: Saving the World’s Most Endangered Big Cat” for Endangered Species Day
Phoenix, AZ (PRWEB) May 15, 2014 -- Endangered tiger blog a Tiger Journal is featuring an interview with Sharon Guynup, co-author of "Tigers Forever: Saving the World’s Most Endangered Big Cat” for Endangered Species Day being held on May 16, 2014.
Guynup, a journalist and photographer, has written on a range of topics including climate change, fracking, the discovery of the SARS virus in bats, the physics of melting glaciers, mercury’s impact on wildlife and humans, the safety of nanotechnology, the state of the oceans, the genetic sequencing of the TB virus, toxic chemicals in household products and more.
But she says she has always had a soft spot for cats.
“I was one of those kids who dragged home an endless stream of emaciated, damaged creatures that I found in the New Jersey suburbs where I grew up,” says Guynup. “They were the first of a lifetime of mammals, birds, fish, lizards and rodents that shared my home and that I’ve admired in nature. I have always been awed by the world’s creatures, not just the cute furry ones. But my first pet was a kitten that I dragged home at the age of four, Squeaky, a tiny orphan that I bottle-fed and hovered over for few weeks; we were bonded for life. I hold a deep, special affection for cats."
Guynup has now turned that “affection” into an outright campaign to save tigers in the wild.
Tigers Forever: Saving the World’s Most Endangered Big Cat is a collaboration with award-winning National Geographic photographer Steve Winter. The book melds spectacular images of tigers and their secret behaviors with insights into why one of the world’s most iconic species is careening towards the edge--and describes the extraordinary efforts to save them. The book is published by National Geographic Books and distributed by Random House.
In her interview, Guynup talks about how the book came about.
“In 2007, I was working on a story about rhino poaching in Kaziranga–when I glimpsed my first wild tiger and began writing regularly about big cats,” says Guynup. “In 2007, global estimates of remaining wild tigers hovered around 3,500; by the time Steve’s Nat Geo story “Cry of the Tiger” ran in National Geographic in 2011, estimates had dropped to about 3,200.”
She said this caused her to ponder what a world without wild tigers would actually be like.
“The idea of a world without tigers is sad beyond words,” says Guynup. "So Steve and I were driven to speak louder, hoping to help jar the world into action before it’s too late. So together we produced Tigers Forever. But we wanted to tell the tiger’s story: Just showing pretty tiger pictures will not save them. People need to know the threats that face tigers, what must be done to mitigate those threats, and see what’s working on the ground–and what isn’t.”
Guynup says if tigers in the wild are to be saved, then “everyone” needs to get involved.
“If we want to have tigers in the world, we must speak up and speak loudly,” says Guynup. “In the words of renowned field biologist George Schaller, “I learned long ago that conservation has no victories. It’s a never-ending process that each of us must take part in.”
Go here to read the full interview with Sharon Guynup at a Tiger Journal.
Go here to read Guynup’s series of tiger blogs on National Geographic.
Go here to purchase Tigers Forever: Saving the World’s Most Endangered Big Cat.
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a Tiger Journal was created by Endangered Species Journalist Craig Kasnoff to promote the plight of endangered species and the efforts to save them.
Craig Kasnoff, CKMC, +1 (619) 452-8467, [email protected]
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