Land of the Snow Tiger Campaign

The Pollyanna Pickering Foundation is currently working with The Bill Jordan Foundation to build a rehabilitation and release centre to ensure the survival of Tigers and Rhinos in Nepal. The Pollyanna Pickering Foundation is proud to have raised £5,750.00 so far towards the second stage of this project, and fund-raising is ongoing.

The winning ticket in the annual prize draw was drawn by Martin Clunes in the summer of 2006.

As part of this worldwide tiger conservation project, an additional grant of £1100.00 was made to the Siberian Tiger Conservation Trust, and number one of the limited edition print Tiger River was donated to the Born Free Foundation to raise funds for the continuing work with big cats, at a special auction held in conjunction with Cash in the Attic.

Land has been secured in agreement with the Nepalese authorities in the Royal National Chitwan Park. The park is one of the country's treasures of natural wonders, covering 932 sq. km of sub tropical lowlands. It is home to over 50 species of mammals, and 5525 species of birds.The rehabilitation and release sanctuary will be the first of its kind anywhere in the world, and will not only secure the lives of threatened species, but also bring employment to the villagers of Nepal, and provide a powerful educational tool for the country. Once fully developed the sanctuary will also provide carefully monitored eco tourism opportunities to ensure that it becomes a self-sustaining project. The Bill Jordan Foundation has already rescued several tigers from death in this region, and they are currently housed in a short term rehabilitation enclosure on the site.

The Foundation along with the Tiger Rhino Conservation Society managed to secure an Island in the village of Bharatpur. The heads of the municipality of the village have come to an agreement with us to hand over this land so we can build Tiger Island, a rehabilitation and release sanctuary for injured and orphaned wildlife, including tiger cubs and rhinos, where they can be safe, secure, looked after properly and eventually, when they are ready, be released back into the wild.

The release of these injured and orphaned animals back to the wild into their original natural habitat is the one thing that is absolutely of utmost importance to us - and to the environment - and is the ultimate goal for every animal that will be cared for at the sanctuary. This is the reason why Tiger Island Rehabilitation and Release Sanctuary is so important. Tiger Island will be a halfway house’ for these animals. After a short period of veterinary care and monitoring, any animal that comes into our care will be relocated to Tiger Island into a huge enclosure that is away from human contact of any kind. The Island is covered in dense tropical woodland and bushes, the perfect environment for a wild animal to be prepared for release.

Not only is Tiger Island the very first rehabilitation and release sanctuary in the world for orphaned and injured wild cats and rhinos, but it is also a huge leap forward for the Nepalese people. The building of Tiger Island and the running of it when built will provide much needed jobs for the locals, many of whom have little to nothing. Some of the villagers are so poor they live in tents or mud huts at the side of the road. The commitment and hard work put in by these villagers is astounding. The awareness and eco tourism prospects that this innovative and pioneering project will create is vital to the Nepalese people.