The answer to our quiz is Karnataka.

As we said, the state in southern India is home to 50 million people and some Bengal tigers. Indian conservationists fear a new national law will increase the pressure on the already-endangered cats. The law allows India's tribal "forest dwellers" to claim 4 acres of land in the country's woodlands and national parks.

Reporter David Kohn travelled to one of India's wildest spots -- in Karnataka -- for a close up look at the tiger's habitat.

Kohn: Nagarhole National Park in the southern state of Karnataka, is home to lots of endangered species, including elephants, leopards, Indian spotted deer - and tigers. About 60 Bengal tigers, India's unofficial symbol, roam the 643 square kilometer park.

It's not hard to find signs of the big cats. A couple of weeks ago I went out looking with Nagarhole ranger A.T. Pooviah in his rumbly old jeep. As we drove he talked about how the law, called the Tribal Rights Act would change his park.

A.T. Pooviah: "Definitely it's a bad thing. You won't expect any wildlife in future if land is given inside the forest. You won't expect any animal in 20 years. They will finish it off."

Kohn: After a just few minutes, he stopped and jumped out....
....what do you see here?
A.T. Pooviah: "This is a tiger track. Yea, this is a big one. This is around 7 to 8 years. It's a big, big male I think."

Kohn: The tracks were only hours old. A few feet away he pointed out more tracks - pugmarks as they are called in India.

"pugmark"

A.T. Pooviah: "You have seen tigers, spotted deers, you have gaur also."

Spotted Dear

Kohn: So in this one place in the last day, there have been tigers, spotted deer, and the gaur, which is an Indian bison. Two weeks ago, he says, an adult female tiger died after being caught in a trap set by tribals to catch deer. About 7000 tribal people live inside Nagarhole. Pooviah says that after the land law was passed a few months ago, more tribals actually began moving IN, attracted by the prospect of free land.

A.T. Pooviah: "Now what they are doing is after this bill came, they are thinking that they will be given land here only. They are taking their relatives, and they are bringing them back. Some new families are already coming."

A.T. Pooviah (right) talking to colleagues

Kohn: Tigers and tribals cannot coexist, he says -- there's simply not enough space. Tribal groups see the situation differently. Social worker Shri Kant has been working with tribals in and around Nagarhole for more than 20 years. He runs an NGO called DEED. He points out that tribals are known as "adivasis" - which means "original people" in Hindi. They have lived in the forests for tens of thousands of years.

Shri Kant

Shri Kant: "Asking for forest is their natural right. Giving forest to tribals is the duty of the government, because the forest belongs to adivasis. They have been living on it. That is their livelihood."

Kohn: The Adivasis' situation is akin to that of Native Americans: hundreds of separate groups, each with their own language and customs - Like Native Americans, tribals have been pushed off their land for hundreds of years.

Adivasi Saniyah has lived all of his 50 years in a small village just outside Nagarhole park. A slight, gentle man with long, scraggly hair, he works as a day laborer, farms a small plot, and gathers fruits and vegetables from the forest. Tribals are part of nature, he says, and will not harm the land or any endangered animals.

Saniyah: "The forest has protected us for centuries. Our parents and forefathers born and lived there happily. We love forest so deep in our heart, because our forefathers and parents live there. We were born there. It's our native land. There, we enjoy a kind of freedom."

Adivasi Saniyah

Kohn: But not all Adivasis want to live in the forest.

P.M. Muthanna: "Most tribals want to join mainstream."

Kohn: That's P.M. Muthanna, He runs another NGO near Nagarhole, which helps tribals resettle outside the park.

P.M. Muthanna: "Around 10% to 20% of the total population owns mobile phone. They use jean pants. They wear branded shoes. They go to town twice or thrice a week. They are enjoying the mainstream."

Kohn: Muthanna's NGO, funded by the Indian government, gives tribals 4 acres each, plus a small house with a water connection, and two bullocks to help them farm. He says the Tribal Rights Act will be a disaster for both tribals and tigers. Like many, he worries that corrupt businessmen and officials will misuse the law to grab large tracts of forest for mining and development. He thinks relocation is the only hope for both Adivasis and animals.

P.M. Muthanna: The forest holds no future for tribals. The simple fact is that there isn't enough forest for both the tribals and the animals. They can't coexist.

Kohn: Back in New Delhi, The Indian parliament is now crafting the final version of the act. Conservationists are hoping that lawmakers may decide to shield some critical wildlife areas such as Nagarhole from tribal settlement.

For the World, I'm David Kohn, in Nagarhole National Park, Karnataka, India.