Unsung Heroes: Undercover wildlife officer to rescuer and anti-manjha activist, Rajesh Kumar dons many hats
From rescuing and rehabilitating animals to busting illegal trade in wildlife and being a certified naturalist, Rajesh Kumar’s life is full of uncertainty and adventure, but the 33-year-old wouldn’t have it any other way.
So far, Kumar has rescued and rehabilitated approximately 4,800 birds, 10,000 snakes and 2,000 mammals and domestic animals. A day in Rajesh Kumar’s life is filled with uncertainty, risk and some adventure. His closeness with nature and wildlife over the past decade has moulded him into an individual who wears multiple hats. The 33-year-old is a wildlife rescuer with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Forest Cell, a wildlife educator, an undercover wildlife officer and a naturalist who has been actively involved in rescue wildlife missions.
Born in Bengaluru, Kumar’s interests gravitated towards nature and wildlife through literary works and research into the constitutional aspects of wildlife. He says, “The trigger point to venture into wildlife was when I started reading on the different wildlife acts enshrined in the Indian Constitution and found out they are still not being implemented in reality. I read up on scientific articles related to wildlife conservation which piqued my interest.”
In 2010 he joined as a wildlife rescuer with the BBMP forest cell where he was tasked with rescuing reptiles, birds, trees and even insects in and around Bengaluru as well as across Karnataka. So far, Kumar has rescued and rehabilitated approximately 4,800 birds, 10,000 snakes and 2,000 mammals and domestic animals.
Born in Bengaluru, Kumar’s interests gravitated towards nature and wildlife through literary works and research into the constitutional aspects of wildlife.
Busting illegal traders to educating them
Kumar has also worked as special officer and active volunteer for the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau under the Government of India where he operated under the shadows with the forest departments of different states in south India to monitor and report illegal wildlife trade. This includes illegal trade in tiger and leopard skins, ivory, blackbuck, trade of live birds and mammals, among others. His rescue missions were spread across places like Hassan, Chikmagalur, Shimoga, Bannerghatta (all in Karnataka), Wayanad (Kerala), Dharmapuri, Mettur and Krishnagiri (Tamil Nadu). Out of many illegal trade busts, Kumar feels that nabbing the traders who sold key chains with insects in Bengaluru’s market area is perhaps the one that meant the most to him.
Although dealing with wildlife can be risky, Kumar believes that dealing with humans is riskier. “Over the years, I have personally faced death threats from poachers and illegal traders who were behind bars after I exposed their illegal activities. In some cases, I have also reported the threats to the police. In other cases, we educate the illegal traders about their wrongdoings and help them switch sides as informers,” adds Kumar who is also an animal caretaker under the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) of the central government.
Getting manjha threads banned
With many avian species in Bengaluru falling prey to manjha threads used for kite-flying, Kumar got his maiden mission around 2013 when the first such case involving manjha was reported in the city’s Ulsoor. “We had no clue as to how we can rescue birds from manjha because the case was new to us. But over time, after many cases were reported in the city, we figured it out and also began creating awareness about the threat that manjha poses to birds,” says Kumar, who rescued the most birds in 2016-17 – around 600.
Although dealing with wildlife can be risky, Kumar believes that dealing with humans is riskier.
In fact, he had hogged the limelight during one of his toughest missions in 2012 when it took nearly 22 hours to rescue a kite from a manjha string in Bengaluru. His reports on the threat of manjha threads to birds were submitted to the Karnataka government and became instrumental in bringing a gazette notification banning manjha in the state in 2016.
Batting for the environment
Kumar is also a certified naturalist under the Karnataka Eco-Tourism Board as part of which he has covered forests across the Western Ghats by foot to understand the ecological value of these ranges. His study on the flora and fauna there was also instrumental in conducting awareness campaigns for tribals and locals on environmental issues.
The founder-trustee for Wild World Conservation Trust, which conducts nature-related activities, environment tours and campaigns for different sets of people, Kumar has been part of various programmes related to conservation, snakebite, waste management and removing nails from trees, among others.
“Being a naturalist and a wildlife rescuer is filled with uncertainty and risk. I have compromised a lot on my personal life where I do not watch movies nor spend quality time with friends. In fact, receiving calls during unusual hours disturbs my health. Moreover, for rescuers like us there is hardly any safety gear, a comprehensive health insurance policy or an effective framework that addresses our problems. But I love to work on wildlife conservation due to my love of animals and birds which I would pass on to the next generation,” says Kumar who is also planning to set up a wildlife education centre in Bengaluru to educate people on urban wildlife.
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