Fateh Singh Rathore

Fateh Singh Rathore (10 August 1938 – 1 March 2011) was an Indian tiger conservationist. Fateh Singh joined the Indian Forest Service in 1960 and was part of the first Project Tiger team. He was widely acknowledged as the tiger guru for his legendary knowledge of the big cat. Rathore was noted for his pioneering relocation of villages from inside the Ranthambhore National Park in 1973–75. Largely because of Mr. Rathore, "Ranthambhore became the place which brought the tiger to the consciousness of people the world over." His mother died in February 2010.

Rathore's uncles, one in the army, and the other a lawyer, helped bring him up. He was sent away to Col. Brown Cambridge School, a boarding school, in Dehra Dun and later stayed with an uncle while a college student. He was uninterested in his studies, although his uncle wanted him to be a lawyer. Rathore graduated from the Rajputana University in 1960. After working as a store clerk and selling coal, Rathore was offered a job as a park ranger by an uncle who had become deputy minister of forests in Rajasthan.

Honours and awards Rathore received several awards and honours in recognition of his tiger conservation work. 1982 - Fred M. Packard Award by the IUCN Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas in recognition of outstanding service in furthering the conservation objective of protected areas. Given by the Duke of Edinburgh. 1983 - International Valour Award for bravery in conservation. Esso Award by Shri I.K. Gujral, Former Prime Minister of India for lifetime achievement in Tiger Conservation. 1999 - Honorary Wildlife Warden of Ranthambhore National Park 2011 - World Wildlife Fund lifetime achievement award

Publications Picture and articles by FSR about wild tigers in Ranthambhore have been published in several books and periodicals including: