Valmik Thapar
Indian conservationist (1952–2025)
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Valmik Thapar (1952 – 31 May 2025) was an Indian naturalist, conservationist and writer.[1][2] He was the author of 14 books and several articles, and was the producer of a range of programmes for television.[3] He was one of India's most respected wildlife experts and conservationists, having produced and narrated documentaries on India's natural habitat for such media as the BBC, Animal Planet, Discovery and National Geographic.
- Wildlife documentary filmmaker
- conservationist
- natural historian
Valmik Thapar | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | 1952 New Delhi, India |
| Died | (aged 73) New Delhi, India |
| Education | St. Stephen's College, Delhi (BA) |
| Occupation |
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| Known for | Land of the Tiger (1997) |
| Spouse | Sanjana Kapoor |
| Children | Hamir Thapar |
| Father | Romesh Thapar |
| Relatives | Romila Thapar (aunt) Daya Ram Thapar (grandfather) Pran Nath Thapar (great-uncle) |
Early life
Valmik Thapar was born in Bombay (now Mumbai) to Raj Thapar, who founded the political journal Seminar in 1959, and Romesh Thapar, a noted journalist and political commentator. Noted Indian historian Romila Thapar is his aunt.
He married theatre personality Sanjana Kapoor and the couple had a son, Hamir. Valmik Thapar and his family lived in Delhi.[4]
Career
Valmik Thapar spent decades following the fortunes of India's tiger population. He was influenced by Fateh Singh Rathore.[5]
His stewardship of the Ranthambore Foundation was recognised and he was appointed a member of the Tiger Task Force of 2005 by the Government of India. He criticised the majority Task Force view in his dissent note as excessively focussed on the prospects of co-existence of tigers and humans, which was, in his view not consistent with the objective of the panel.
His writings have analysed the perceived failure of Project Tiger, a conservation apparatus created in 1973 by the Government of India.[6] He critiqued Project Tiger, drawing attention to its mismanagement by a forest bureaucracy that is largely not scientifically trained. His last book The Last Tiger (Oxford University Press) makes this case strongly.
Among the consistent criticisms levelled by Thapar at India's Ministry of Environment and Forests one relating to its unwillingness to curb poaching through armed patrols and its refusal to open forests to scholarly scientific enquiry.
His famous relationship with 'Macchli', a tigress, is documented in some of his chronicles.[7] Thapar's most cherished tigers are highlighted in the BBC documentary film My Tiger Family.[8]
In 2015, he joined the debate on the fate of T-24, who was identified as the tiger that killed four people, and was transferred from the wild to a zoo.[9] Thapar considered the relocation to be the best option and made the area safer for forest guards and pilgrims.[10]
Death
Selected television works
- Tiger Crisis (1994)
- Land of the Tiger (1997)
- Tigers' Fortress (2000)
- Danger in Tiger Paradise (2002)
- Search for Tigers (2003)
- My Tiger Family (2024)[14]
- Legendary Tigers of India (2026; dedicated to Thapar's memory)[15]
Bibliography
- Books by Valmik Thapar
- With Tigers in the Wild, Vikas Publishing, Delhi
- Tiger: Portrait of a Predator, Collins UK
- Tigers: The Secret Life, Hamish Hamilton, Penguin, UK
- The Tiger's Destiny, Kyle Ceathie, UK
- The Land of the Tiger: A Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent, BBC Publishing, UK
- The Secret Life of Tigers, Oxford University Press, Delhi
- Tiger, Wayland, UK
- Wild Tigers of Ranthambhore, Oxford University Press, India
- Bridge of God: 20 Days in the Masai Mara, Private
- The Cult of the Tiger, Oxford University Press, India
- Tiger: The Ultimate Guide, Two Brothers Press, USA
- The Last Tiger, Oxford University Press, India
- The Illustrated Tigers of India, Oxfpord University Press, India
- Ranthambhore: 10 Days in the Tiger Fortress, Oxford University Press, India
- Tigers and the Banyan Tree, Private
- An African Diary: 12 Days in Kenya's Magical Wilderness, Oxford University Press, India
- The Tiger: Soul of India, Oxford University Press, India
- Tigers, My Life: Ranthambhore and Beyond, Oxford University Press, India
- My Life with Tigers: Ranthambhore and Beyond, Oxford University Press, India
- Tigers in the Emerald Forest: Ranthambhore after the Monsoon, Oxford University Press, India Tiger Fire, Aleph Publishing, India
- Tiger Fire: 500 Years of the Tigers in India, Aleph Publishing, India
- Wild Fire: The Splendours of India's Animal Kingdom, Aleph Publishing, India
- Winged Fire: A Celebration of Indian Birds, Aleph Publishing, India
- Living with Tigers, Aleph Publishing, India
- Serengeti Magic, Private
- Serengeti Tales, Private
- Saving Wild India: A Blueprint for Change, Aleph Publishing, India
- Books co-authored by Valmik Thapar
- With Tigers in the Wild with Fateh Singh Rathore and Tejbir Singh, Vikas Publishing, Delhi
- Tigers and Tigerwallahs with Jim Corbett, Billy Arjan Singh, Geoffrey C. Ward and Diane Raines Ward, Oxford University Press, Delhi
- Exotic Aliens with Romila Thapar and Yusuf Ansari, Aleph Publishing
- Books edited by Valmik Thapar
- Saving Wild Tigers, 1900–2000: The Essential Writings, Permanent Black, India
- Battling for Survival, Oxford University Press, India