The poaching crisis national parks face imperils the future of charismatic animals like the tiger, rhino, and elephant. Members of the National Board of Wildlife have expressed concern that conservation gets mostly lip service in policy-making, although the Board is headed by a Prime Minister who is enthusiastic about conservation. Why, for example, has there been no serious effort to rejuvenate the anti-poaching wing of the Forest Department and put it on a professional footing in all the States? The serious setback at Kaziranga spotlights India’s failure to take the protection agenda seriously. Although the park has expanded to about 900 square kilometres from 430, there has been no proportionate increase in the strength of a capable field staff, which has been greying. The Central government’s Tiger Task Force pointed out in 2005 that the average age of field guards in the reserves was 42 and nearly a fifth of sanctioned posts in tiger reserves were vacant. The Central government must ensure that a professional, well-equipped, and trained protection framework is instituted in the national parks. The Wildlife Crime Bureau under the MoEF holds some promise, but it needs enforcement staff in all the States and a culture of accountability. Unless the system is shaken up urgently, India’s great natural heritage of wildlife and biodiversity will be irreversibly impoverished.