Tracking Tigers, Saving Cubs: A Day in the Life of Bheru, Kumbhalgarh’s Forest Guard

“I joined Rajasthan’s Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary as a forest guard. But despite this being called a wildlife sanctuary, I was surprised at not being able to see any wildlife,” Bhera Ram Bishnoi, fondly known as Bheru, shares. 

Bheru has spent years patrolling the jungles; this time has taught him plenty. And this is his story. 

“I always wanted to see the animals that I saw displayed on posters, the ones people talk about,” he shares. But this remained a wish for months, as he settled into his role. 

In the initial years, Bheru’s routine remained constant; he’d patrol the forest for 15 km on foot every day, keep a lookout for poachers, illegal logging, and tree tapping. One of the most challenging tasks was setting up camera traps. 

“This technology is useful to keep a check on illegal movements, but I was clueless about how to set up a camera trap. I decided to start at the waterhole.” 

Time and mistakes were Bheru’s teachers, and eventually his skills improved. Soon, sloth bears, leopards, and hyenas made cameos in the footage captured by the cameras. “Seeing them made me happy. My interest in wildlife increased.” 

Bheru belongs to the Bishnoi community, which has a century-long legacy of environmental conservation. They share an umbilical link with the forest and are ardent conservators of the blackbuck. But, ever since Bheru took on his role as forest guard, another species found favour with him — the hyena. 

Among the numerous calls that inundate his phone, each informing him about an animal that needs rescue, Bheru recalls his most memorable case to be that of four hyena cubs that had strayed out of the jungle. 

“No one knew how long the cubs had been away from their mother. I was convinced we would find her, but we did not manage to. And the cubs had to be transferred to a zoo.” However, this case and the time spent with the hyenas instilled in him a love for the animals. 

One day, Bheru received a call from the Deputy Conservator of Forests. 

“The villagers had found some leopard cubs and were insisting that a cage be set up to capture the mother, or that the cubs be sent to the zoo.” But this time, Bheru resolved not to let history repeat itself. 

“I made up my mind that I would reunite the cubs with their mother. Even the Deputy Conservator of Forests and the Rajasthan forest department decided that we wouldn’t send the cubs to the zoo.”

The plan was successful. The cubs were reunited with their mother. 

Bheru credits his job for deepening his love for the wild. “I can’t think of ever doing anything else,” he concludes.  

This story is part of a content series by The Better India and Roundglass Sustain.

All pictures courtesy Roundglass Sustain

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thebetterindia.com