Tigers imperiously prowling through the wild jungles used to be a common sight for centuries across India, but decades of hunting by wealthy British colonists and Indians, coupled with poaching have cut their number from about 40,000 100 years ago to around 1,400 today. Experts believe that India's dwindling tiger population will never recover and it will take a miracle to save those left from habitat destruction and poaching. Authorities say poachers killed at least 114 tigers across India between 1999 and 2003, while just 59 died of natural causes during that period. Recently, four tigers were found dead -- two of them poisoned by poachers -- inside Jim Corbett National Park in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas. Poorly armed and badly paid wildlife guards, mismanagement and corruption undermine the protection of tigers in India, say critics. In one reserve in western India, about 18 tigers have disappeared in a year. This has triggered national...