Working in a Tiger Reserve

My experience interning at my favourite forest...

Hey friends,

Greetings from Ashoka University, India!

Bandipur Tiger Reserve has played an instrumental role in my life. Many moons ago, I saw my first tiger while roaming its roads. It was then I realised my passion for wildlife and for the environment. That forest secured its place in my heart.

So imagine my delight when I found out that I could intern at Bandipur, documenting the Lantana removal and forest restoration.

Lantana is an invasive plant that was brought into India when the British colonised the subcontinent. Within a couple centuries, it has taken over the country, in its own way colonising over the land’s wild spaces. It prevents native species from proliferating, causing serious harm to wildlife.

I had just finished my first year of college and was searching for an internship for the summer. I was keen on working in the conservation sphere and thus went around asking if anyone knew of an opportunity.

Fortunately, a friend of mine put me in touch with Junglescapes. They are a wildlife conservation NGO that works in restoration ecology. They rejuvenate degraded landscapes to provide wildlife with rich habitats to live in. They needed an outsider to document their restoration and wondered whether I’d be interested. I jumped at the opportunity, eager to start work as quickly as possible.

They required a couple of articles that captured their entire methodology, showing how their work helped restore the forest’s natural state. They wanted me to capture the role of the tribals in the project, showcasing how their involvement aided both them and the forest. They wanted me to document how the wildlife bounced back after the restoration.

So one fine morning, I got up before the sun rose and headed to the bus stand, where I boarded a bus to Mysore. Catching a direct bus to Bandipur is difficult, so I hopped off at Mysore, got on one headed to Gundlupet (the nearest town), and then finally Bandipur. Travelling on the local KSRTC bus is quite an experience that merits its own post.

At Bandipur, I met Mahesha, who is the field supervisor for Junglescapes. He handles all the communication and coordination on-site. He took me around, showing me all the work Junglecapes is involved in.

We first visited a self-help group of tribal women who break open seed pods of native trees. These seeds are replanted in locations that have undergone Lantana removal. I watched as these women diligently broke open pod after pod, painstakingly removing the seeds from inside and discarding the shell. It is tiresome work, yet they all bore it with a smile.

We then visited restored sites to see the restoration's effect. There, I was shocked to see the variety of plant species. Most travellers are used to the forest visible from the main road. Lantana has taken over the landscape, offering little space for other plants to take hold. But here, there were many of the species you’d find in a deciduous forest.

Littered everywhere was the presence of wildlife. Elephant dung piles and Gaur hoof marks were found at every turn, along with shed antlers of ungulates like Chital and Sambhar. This showed that animals preferred these restored regions to the lantana-infested thickets.

Read the full case study.

Over my subsequent trips, I spent days in the field with the tribals as they removed the Lantana. It is cumbersome and arduous, requiring unending concentration and energy (read the entire case study). Yet they joked and laughed as they worked.

I was very fortunate to witness forest restoration first-hand. This practice is the need of the hour, with our planet losing large swathes of forests daily. Junglescapes are fighting tooth and nail to prevent Bandipur from losing its wildlife. They have my heartfelt respect.

This Week’s Links

Movies, Stereotypes and Myths around wildlife: In this article, I dive into some of the tropes that surround wildlife in our day and age.

Stories are the new handshake: Here, my friend

Rick Lewis

talks about how stories can be the best way to connect with another person.

Postcard

This is the view currently from my friend’s cottage in Munnar, Kerala. It overlooks his cardamom plantation, which is the staple crop of the region. Here, the trees grow over a 100 feet, forming a dense canopy that blocks out the sunlight.

Even though it is a plantation, it hosts a myriad variety of wildlife. I’ve seen barking deer, rat snakes, cat snakes, malabar pit vipers, whistling thrushes, fairy bluebirds, serpent eagles, giant squirrels, trogons and so much more!

Favourite Quote

“Perhaps we'll never know how far the path can go, how much a human being can truly achieve, until we realize that the ultimate reward is not a gold medal but the path itself.” — George Leonard

Have a creative, energetic and inspiring week!

If you’re new, welcome to The Owlet! My name is Ishan Shanavas, and here I talk about my work, along with curating the most interesting ideas on the internet. I confine them to topics like Nature, Culture, Photography, and Art but often fall prey to other genres.