Perceptions are an important part of our existence, indeed they influence our actions in a multitude of ways. A common perception of tigers in many cultures is one of a cunning, dangerous, man eating predator. An animal that represents a darker age, that patrols both the margins of dark foreboding forests as well as the outer margins of our consciousness that host our fears.

But what if we turn the tables? What would a tiger's perception of Homo sapiens be? Likely, an evil and malignant force, that brings destruction to the natural world, that decimates the tigers food supply, not just taking what it needs but taking everything. A strange upright creature that destroys the habitat the tiger calls home. Bringing destruction to vast tracts of forest for no apparent reason, eating the trees with their noisy polluting logging machinery. A creature that stalks and hunts the tiger, that sets foul traps and poisoned baits that maim the big cats and leave them suffering a lingering painful death. And for what reason does this strange bipedal enemy hunt the tiger and its domain, not for food or need but for concepts that the tiger cannot have any understanding of: money; trophies; floor rugs; wall hangings; decorative items; quack elixirs and tonics; and man's ultimate dark desire - greed.

Is it our species who should fear the tiger or should the tiger fear us?

The Indo-Chinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti) survives man, possibly temporarily, in scattered locations across Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam. It is believed that 400 to 1,100 are left in about 70 isolated reserves. Of this total it is estimated that between 250 and 700 (source: IUCN) may be surviving in Thailand. A species that has graced the earth, according to the fossil record, for at least 2 million years, is now hanging by a thread. A thread that is the result of less than 100 years of man's greed.

Who should be afraid of who?