Last years of the tiger

When he found the bull the tiger had killed, Mangya Moghiya set to work quickly. The wily old poacher knew the tiger would return soon and he wished to stack the odds in his favour. He dug a series of holes, inserted inverted T-shaped metal plates attached by chains to leg traps and stamped the soil back down. Then he retired to the safety of a tree and waited.

Moghiya is 55, extraordinarily thin, bald and almost deaf but he has a lifetime of experience killing tigers in Rajasthan's Ranthambhore reserve, one of 37 national parks set up by the Indian government to protect the critically endangered animal.

Moghiya didn't have to wait long. With a snap, the trap sprang shut around one of the tiger's paws. The animal howled and jerked backwards violently, desperate to free itself. To Moghiya's horror, the chain snapped. But instead of attacking, the tiger limped back into the forest.

It was 1am when Moghiya caught up with it. He followed the tracks to the mouth of a small valley. He sought out local farmers and demanded they send their buffalo in to flush the tiger out. A little while later, the tiger emerged and Moghiya finished it off.

The hunt lasted for hours, in an area patrolled by forest guards employed specifically to protect the tigers. Not one tried to stop Moghiya.

Dharmendra Khandal, Tiger Watch's field biologist, spreads his palms in frustration. This is the problem the organisation faces, he says.

Tiger Watch was established 12 years ago to stem the decline of Ranthambhore's wildlife. In the past five years, it has helped police arrest 47 alleged poachers from the Moghiya tribe, many in possession of tiger skins and other body parts, guns and traps. By their own admission, the poachers had killed more than 20 tigers. Yet, the park authorities did not record a single case of poaching. Moghiya was arrested following a tip-off from a forest guard. Tellingly, the guard alerted Tiger Watch rather than his own department.