Wildlife

R Gurusamy, a farmer from Tamil Nadu, gave up most of his ancestral land to care for a few wandering deer in the vicinity. Today, even amid water and food shortage in the nearby forest, his land is a safe haven for over 1,800 deer

One of India's most hardworking conservationists, Arunima Singh has won the NatWest Group Earth Heroes Save the Species Award 2021 for her exemplary efforts towards saving turtles, tortoises, crocodilians and Gangetic dolphins.

Anil Bishnoi, a farmer and activist from Rajasthan, shares how he saved 10,000 blackbucks and chinkaras who are now protected across 60 panchayats while also building them ponds so that they can survive the summer heat.

Karma Sonam, a field manager with the Nature Conservation Foundation, received the Natwest Group Earth Heroes Inspire Award 2021 for his outstanding work in reducing human-wildlife conflict in 17 communities across eastern Ladakh and conservation of snow leopards and Himalayan wolves.

Meet Farsa Ram Bishnoi, an unsung hero from Rajasthan. Recently, a video of him carrying an injured Chinkara on his shoulders went viral after being shared on Twitter by IFS officer Ramesh Pandey.

Geeta Seshamani narrates how along with Kartick Satyanarayan and the team at Wildlife SOS they sort to break the cruel Dancing Bear practice by the Kalandar community that used sloth bears as a source of earning.

Aaliya Mir, a resident of Srinagar, spends her days rescuing deadly vipers from Kashmiri homes, saving bear cubs and reuniting them with their mother and tracing leopard trails in the villages.

As a divisional forest officer, Sasmita Lenka from Odisha helped bust an international network of pangolin smugglers in Athagarh and Khunnpunni. Despite death threats and resistance from those in power, she took action against 36 smugglers and rescued five pangolins

Interestingly, their offbeat efforts even included the promotion of homestays and educating Ladakh’s masses about this elusive cat.

Colonel John Wakefield, fondly known as 'Papa Wakefield' was one of India's quiet, dedicated and effective wildlife defenders who turned wildlife tourism into a significant conservation tool.