Bhagavan "Doc" Antle

Dr. Bhagavan Antle or Doc Antle is the founder and director of T.I.G.E.R.S., The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species and the R.S.F., The Rare Species Fund. The animals from T.I.G.E.R.S have starred in many major motion pictures as well as educational shows all over the world. The R.S.F is dedicated to the worldwide conservation of rare and endangered species and their habitats.

History

Mahamayavi Bhagavan Antle (born March 15, 1960, Salinas, CA) grew up on a vast cattle ranch in Arizona, where his great love for wild and exotic animals began. From a very young age he began raising and caring for every amazing animal he could get his hands on. As a young man he had many opportunities to travel and explore the world and this eventually brought him to China where he studied for and received his Doctoral degree in medicine. He then interned as a traveling doctor throughout many villages in mainland China and other parts of Asia. Doc returned to the United States in the early 80's and located in Buckingham, Virginia near Yogaville, Swami Satchidananda's Ashram, where he co-created and ran Integral Health Services; an alternative drugless therapy clinic utilizing meditation, diet and exercise programs. In 1982, the clinic was visited by a zoo director who introduced Doc to a Siberian tiger cub. Doc was so amazed by the presence of the tiger that he asked if he might use it at the end of one of his lectures, to demonstrate how even the most powerful animals were greatly affected by their environment. The presentation was a great success and after it was over an impressed audience member introduced himself as the local head of Exxon Oil. He asked Doc if he would present the tiger and his message of the dangers of environmental damage at an upcoming Exxon Convention. T.I.G.E.R.S. was soon created as a wildlife education organization, dedicated to promoting global conservation with informative, educational, and entertaining interactive programs. Their animal ambassadors are living examples of current worldwide environmental issues, helping to educate the world AbOUT the importance of conservation and global biodiversity. Today, Doc is widely recognized as one of the foremost animal trainers in the world, having worked with thousands of animals, and traveled the globe promoting the education and conservation of some of our planet’s most rare and endangered species.

T.I.G.E.R.S.

The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species was created in 1982 by Doc Antle, to help raise awareness of the plight of endangered species, such as tigers and elephants, and their fragile ecosystems. His teacher, Swami Satchidananda, encouraged him to take his studies of yoga and eastern medicine and incorporate them into an educational and ecological presentation where humans and animals could interact together in positive and productive ways. The "animal ambassadors" of T.I.G.E.R.S. have not only been seen by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide in live presentations but have also gone on to star in a variety of TV shows, feature films and documentaries. Their fame and influence have lent awareness and financial support to their cousins in the wild and their swiftly vanishing environments. Doc's "animal ambassadors" can be seen at Preservation Station at Barefoot Landing in Myrtle Beach, SC, Jungle Island in Miami, Fl, and every fall season in Carver, MA at the Renaissance Faire.

R.S.F.

The Rare Species Fund was established by Doc Antle to provide funding to critical on the ground international wildlife conservation programs. Specific projects that T.I.G.E.R.S and the R.S.F support include:

1. Helping fund the Matabeleland Leopard and Cheetah project in Zimbabwe that uses radio-collars to track problem animals that had been trans-located. Established GPS locations of animals home range movements for establishing lower hunting quotas.

2. The Rare Species Fund supplies funding to the Raptor Research Program of the Endangered Wildlife Trust in South Africa.

3. The staff from T.I.G.E.R.S. work closely with the Savannah Cheetah Foundation in South Africa preparing captive bred cheetahs for wildlife education programs. The staff of T.I.G.E.R.S created a cheetah run program establishing a much more thrilling and unique program for the guests who see the cheetah running at full speed right in front of their eyes. This up-close uncaged experience gives them a deeper appreciation and better understanding of the real beauty power and grace of the amazing cheetah. It is hoped this lure chasing program along with other unique projects will start the cheetah on the long road back to eventual release into the wild.

4. T.I.G.E.R.S hand delivered seven tigers to the Samutprakam Wildlife Park in Thailand. This group of trained and uniquely colored tigers is the first of its kind to be established anywhere in Asia. These tigers are used to draw attention to issues of international conservation while stressing the importance of saving wild tigers in a part of the world where tigers still live naturally but are highly endangered.

5. A National Geographic research team used T.I.G.E.R.S trained animal ambassadors to learn how to fit grizzly bears and lions with video collars so that, for the very first time, research could be carried out from the animals point of view on its routines.

6. The fund supports Thailand’s Khao Yai project by providing in-country teams with the means to purchase equipment and learn Anti-Poaching techniques. The project focuses on training and capacity-building efforts with The Carnivore Conservation Project in Northern Thailand to secure the population of wild tigers in the Khao Yai National Park.

7. Jaguars from T.I.G.E.R.S where used as key characters in the film “Jaguar, Year of the Cat” made by “Nature” and the Smithsonian Institution for international broadcast. This program included the only film clips in the world of a mother Jag and her cubs in a wild setting, This was made possible due to the great relationship the female and her cubs had with Doc Antle and the staff of T.I.G.E.R.S.. Images of wild jaguars seemed almost impossible to get at this time and only by using the trained wildlife of T.I.G.E.R.S. was it possible to make such a landmark documentary and bring the magnificent jaguar to millions of people around the world. This project also brought battery operated televisions into the South American rainforest to show remote villages and rural populations a short film of our jaguar running free, raising young and swimming in SC to initiate cooperation in conservation programs with native tribes and ranchers, most of whom had never seen a live Jaguar.

8. The RSF has invested in the planting of trees to replenish the rainforest located in the vicinity of Tanjung Puting National Park in Central Indonesian Borneo as part of the Orangutan Foundation International’s Forestry Restoration Program.

Movies

Living Yoga (2008)
Notorious Bettie Page (2005)
Jungle Book 2 (2003)
Mighty Joe Young (1998)
Dr. Dolittle(1998)
Wild America(1997)
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls(1995)
Dead Presidents(1995)
The Jungle Book(1994)
The War(1994)
The Client(1994)
Forrest Gump(1994)
The Road to Wellville(1994)
Sgt.Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.(1991)
Date with an Angel'' (1987)

Television

• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno - NBC
• King of the Jungle - Animal Planet
• Humanzee - Discovery Channel
• Wild - National Geographic
• Late Show with David Letterman - CBS
• Big Cats - PBS
• ABC World of Discovery / Tiger Lord of the Wild - ABC
• Good Morning America - ABC

News Articles

• Mommy Dearest? - People
• "I wanna be like you" - Mail
• Toddler striked up friendship with orangutan - Telegraph
• Baby tigers monkey around - The Sun