It is not too often an avid hunter becomes an accomplished conservationist. But that is exactly the odd and winding path "Billy" Arjan Singh took during his remarkable life.
Singh was born in Gorakhpur, India, on August 15, 1917. He had ties to the royal family there, which meant he participated in activities such as hunting. But in his 40s, he had an epiphany after shooting a leopard and watching it die. "I had no right whatsoever to destroy what I could not create," he told Sanctuary Asia in 2000. The profound realization set him on the path to conservation.
He bought a farm in Uttar Pradesh that came to be known as "Tiger Haven" and allowed the natural wildlife to thrive there. He described it to Sanctuary Asia as "repaying old debts." Turning the entire surrounding area into protected lands was an uphill battle. In India in the '60s and '70s, the idea of conservation was not nearly as popular as hunting.
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Definitely 👍 But Singh relentlessly lobbied the government to protect the wildlife on his land and in the surrounding area. It was a Herculean effort, but the land is now known as the Dudhwa National Park and is a thriving ecosystem full of tigers, elephants, sloth bears, and over 450 species of birds.
Even after his death 15 years ago, Singh's legacy lives on. In 2024, the World Wildlife Fund announced that the number of tigers in the wild has increased by 74% since 2010, and it cited India as one of the countries leading this impressive comeback. This success would never have been possible without the efforts of Singh.
And the successful conservation in India continues to inspire similar efforts around the globe. Last year, a woman in Maine donated 326 acres of land to a state forest conservation program. And researchers routinely make creative technological innovations to assist conservation efforts, such as man-made leaves and carbon vacuums.
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Singh understood intrinsically that our ecosystem is all connected. He told Sanctuary Asia, "The air we breathe and the water we drink stem from the biodiversity of the universal environment and its economics. The tiger is at the centre of this truth. If it goes, we go."
In that way, preserving tigers and other wildlife in India is preserving our own survival and security. With that in mind, we all owe Singh a huge debt of gratitude. If you are inspired by his life and work and want to take meaningful climate action locally, check out this helpful guide.
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