Tigers captured playing with plastic in Corbett, Twitter fumes

New Delhi: A heartbreaking photo of tigers in Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand innocuously playing with a plastic container has gone viral on social media, sparking concern over the adverse impact of plastic pollution on wildlife.

The photo was posted by IFS officer Parveen Kaswan with the caption, "Nothing. Few #tigers playing with #plastic they just received as a gift from us & delivered by this river at #Corbett. That is how deep into #forests & #oceans this plastic menace is growing. Hundreds of wildlife are dying because of them. Picture by Trikansh Sharma. Do we care."

In the photograph, a tigress and her cubs are seen standing in the Ramganga river which flows through the park. One of the big cats is seen holding a plastic drum in its mouth. The tweet garnered 735 likes and 273 retweets.

Reacting to the post, a user wrote, "Corbett is a no-plastic zone...How do we train humans to keep the jungles clean? The irony is that humans are called 'Civilised' and animals are called 'wild'."

Another user wrote, "Humans are nature's worst enemy."

"If we care then we must ban #plastics not just in all wildlife zones but throughout our country. Are we ready for a #plasticfree environment," asked one user?

Another post read, "Only thing our people understand is punishment...U can't aware and awake them, best to levy hefty amount of fine n jail only then they can understand."