India's 'Tiger man' Valmik Thapar passes away

New Delhi: Renowned tiger conservationist Valmik Thapar passed away at his residence here on Saturday morning. He was battling cancer for a long time. He was 73.

Thapar, widely known as India's ‘Tiger Man’, was part of over 150 committees of both central and state governments.

A major figure in India’s conservation efforts, Thapar spent 40 years pushing for wildlife conservation and co-founded the Ranthambhore Foundation in 1988, a non-governmental organisation focused on community-based preservation of wildlife.

He fought for stronger anti-poaching laws and the preservation of natural tiger habitats.

The environmentalist's father, Romesh Thapar, was a noted journalist.

Thapar married theatre artist Sanjana Kapoor, and they were blessed with a son, Hamir.

The environmentalist was inspired by Fateh Singh Rathore, a renowned Indian conservationist and a key member of the Project Tiger team.

Notably, Thapar's famous relationship with 'Macchli', a female tigress, is documented in some of his works.

Thapar, who served as a member of the Tiger Task Force of 2005 in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, had opposed the majority Task Force view, which was optimistic about the co-existence of tigers and humans.

Thapar will be cremated at the Lodhi Electric Crematorium at 3:30 this afternoon. IANS