I've reported about tigers on the news, however, nothing could have prepared me for what I found in India.

I didn’t know what to expect, so when I saw my first tiger in the wild, I was part petrified, part awestruck. What a beautiful and powerful creature it is.

But they live with a price on their heads – a single tiger skin is worth up to £8,000, their bones possibly more.

Another problem is that farmers need to clear vast areas of the forest for their cattle. This means the deer are losing their habitat, and consequently tigers are losing their natural prey, so they end up eating the cattle.

Tigers are not easy to live close to. I met a farmer who had been mauled by one. But despite that, he told me everything has its place in the world and he has no right to get rid of the tiger. Generous under the circumstances!

The conservationists who work for the Tigers Forever project realise that to ensure their survival, tigers don't only need space. They need space away from people.

They are working to stop the conflict between tigers and people by separating them. I visited a new town. People had been moved to it from a settlement in the forest. And it really has worked. It's given them a better life and a better opportunity for their children, which is all they really want.