Footsteps of Tigers - Clippings - award-winning wildlife photographer and videographer, Carol Amore's reports on Bengal tigers - Brief Article

American Forests, Summer, 2003

Carol Amore is an award-winning wildlife photographer and videographer and no stranger to living among wild tigers. Her company, Wildlife Worlds: Adventures in Nature Productions, looks for compelling wildlife stories everywhere from the Arctic circle to the African Plains. A new adventure takes audiences into the Indian jungle, where Bengal tigers roam.

In her latest book, 20 Ways to Track a Tiger, Amore' cameras are focused on Asia's Bengals, but her love for these endangered beauties carries over to their cold-weather cousins, Siberian tigers. Amore lists AMERICAN FORESTs "Trees for Tigers" habitat restoration program in Russia as a great way to help Siberians return from the brink of extinction. She first learned about AMERICAN FORESTS' program on the internet while researching a film on tigers.

"While India has the largest population of tigers at present, habitat and prey accessibility are intensely critical issues for Bengal and Siberian tigers alike," she says. 20 Ways to Track a Tiger chronicles Amore's adventures as she tracks Bengals from the back of an Asian elephant. She learns to identify their direction, speed, and size by looking at paw prints; find their territories; identify unique tiger markings; anticipate their hunting techniques; and interpret animal alarm calls. Many of these experiences are an interactive link to her award-winning VHS/DVD, Tigers: Tracking a Legend, on which the book is based.

Amore says she was constantly intrigued watching the tigress' and cubs range of behaviors from nursing to hunting. "Even their breathing was fascinating to me," she says.

With less than 3,000 Bengals left in the wilds of India, Amore hopes the 150 images in the book and DVD will serve as a call to action. For more about Trees for Tigers, visit www.treesfortigers.org. Purchase Carol Amore's book and DVD at www.wildlifeworlds.com