Protecting endangered animals is a worldwide concern. Sadly, the Royal Bengal tiger, India’s national animal, falls into this category. Less than 1,500 of these magnificent creatures remain in India. Despite the severity of the situation, an alarming number of Royal Bengal tigers continue to be killed. Responding to this concern, Anshuman Ruddra wrote Dorje’s Stripes (Kate Miller, A Division of EDC Publishing, 2011).
This tender story focuses on Dorje, a tiger who is notable for a lack of stripes. Dorje migrated from the mangroves of Bengal as his fellow tigers were being slaughtered. As each of his comrades were killed, he lost a precious stripe. At his new home in the mountains of Tibet, he learned to trust the peaceful monks who resided in a Buddhist monastery. When Dorje’s stripes miraculously reappeared, the monks were initially perplexed. They soon learned that Dorje had a female companion. With this union, there was hope that the Royal Bengal tigers would continue to exist.
Gwangjo Park and Jung-a Park worked together to design watercolor images that highlight the majesty of Dorje and the other tigers as well as the tranquility of the monastery.
A You Tube video and a posting from the Cleveland Cultural Alliance- http://www.dancecca.com/coming_soon/dorjes_stripes_production.htm suggests that a movie version of the book will be out in 2012. A web search provided no additional information.
Discussion Topics
- National animals
- Indian culture and geography
- Buddhism and monks
- Endangered species and government regulations
- Selfishness of hunters
- The role of conservationists
- Preserving a country’s culture
- Hope that things can change
Question
- Do you have a favorite book that focuses on endangered species?
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