But about 90 minutes later, we realise that his father was wrong. Richard Parker, the tiger, helps Pi survive 227 days at sea. Fear of the tiger keeps him alert, tending to the tiger’s needs gives his life purpose, and when Richard Parker leaves him unceremoniously, it breaks his heart. If the character of Richard Parker, played by the Bengal tiger, did not melt your heart, then the show, Where Tigers Rule, is sure to.

You might have already seen ads of the show with actors Ajay Devgn or Bipasha Basu or Olympic Gold Medalist Abhinav Bindra in them. They share a passion for tigers and have joined hands with Animal Planet in an attempt to help the channel generate nationwide interest on our national animal and the threats it faces.

The show’s first episode is called India: The Kingdom of the Tiger. In this episode, the life of Jim Corbett is cleverly intertwined with the history of tiger hunting in India, and also several fascinating facts about this feline, which is called ‘the noblest citizen of India’.

In the first few minutes, we witness several black and white images that depict reckless hunting of tigers in the past. Through the show we see how, in the past, kings took pride in hunting down tigers. Killing a tiger was symbolic of the passage of a prince into manhood.

We are introduced to Jim Corbett and his journey of change, from a hunter of tigers to a conservationist. It is interesting to note that as a child, Jim spent several hours in the forest trying to categorise animals according to the role they have to play in nature.

Working as a colonel for the British, Jim was frequently called upon by villagers to kill man-eating tigers that were preying on people in Kumaon, on the foothills of the Himalayas. Jim’s knowledge of tigers and his hunting successes earned him a long-held respect and fame, but it also made him sad. He knew that conserving the tiger is important as they render balance in nature. He wanted to find a way by which tigers and human beings could live in harmony.

In an attempt to enlighten people, he began filming and even authored several books (Man-Eaters of Kumaon, Jungle Lore), recounting his experiences. This earned him the name of the pioneer of tiger conservation in India. At the end of the show, a special mention is made indicating that the national park in Uttarakhand was renamed Jim Corbett National Park in 1957, in his memory.

The show conveys several interesting facts that help us in understanding tigers better — that they are adaptable solitary predators native to various habitats; that they mark their territory by spraying urine and leaving scratch marks on trees; that they can reach the length of 11 feet and can get as heavy as 306 kg; and, like a human’s fingerprints, the patterns on tigers are unique to each animal.

Bringing us from the past to the present, the show blames erosion of habitat and poaching as reasons for the dwindling number of these species. The tail, bones, skin, brain, claw, whiskers, testes and penis of a tiger are all highly sought after. As a result, three of the nine subspecies of the modern tiger have become extinct and the remaining six have been classified as endangered. Tigers play the role of both predator and protector. They are under a grave threat of extinction, and those that remain are more valuable than ever, as life is connected together like the links in a chain.

The earlier episode focuses too much on Jim Corbett and too less on tigers. However, the next episode, Tigers: Hunting for a Home, based in the Bandhavgarh National Park, captures some heartwarming scenes in the day-to-day life of a tigress and her cubs.

With each episode conveying a message, Where Tigers Rule brings tigers to rule your television screens for the entire month of April, every night at 9 pm, on Animal Planet.