Save tigers campaign in Uttarakhand

School students in Uttarakhand took out a rally here to create awareness about the dwindling number of tigers in the country and to save the forest areas.

Carrying placards and raising slogans, the students marched through the streets of Ramnagar in the state's Nanital district.

The rally was organised under the aegis of a non-charitable trust, the Corbett Foundation, which is committed to preserving the wildlife in the famed Jim Corbett National Park.

The students also painted their faces with yellow colours with black stripes like that of a tiger.

"We want to convey the message - please save the tigers, which are fast dwindling so that our future generation can see the species. We feel sad that we could not see the dinosaurs, which are now extinct and that is the reason why we want to save the tigers," said Nirmala Panth, a student.

Harender Bargeli, deputy director of Corbett Foundation, said that if children are made aware, they could help in conserving the environment and wildlife.

"Our main aim to involve these children was since children are our future, if they are aware and if they take the initiative to save the forest wildlife then we can save many animals like tigers, elephants," said Bargeli.

Poaching and loss of habitat have caused the number of tigers to plunge to an alarming rate in India.

Conservationists say the trade in skin and bones is booming to countries such as China, which has banned the use of tiger parts in medicine but where everything from fur to whiskers to eyeballs to bones, are still used.