IN the last one year, he has walked or paddled over 3,000 km — all alone, tracking tiger and bear trails, armed with only a pair of binoculars and a camera. If that sounds like a programme on Discovery or National Geographic, think again. For he is Kiran Purandare, on a mission to study the bio-diversity of Nagzira sanctuary in Gondia district of Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region.Living in the dense Nagzira forest since October 31 last year, Purandare has watched and captured the movements and habits of its various species of wildlife from his eight jungle hideouts and tree-tops. Now, his study is almost complete.‘‘This is the first time that someone has stayed in the state for so long to conduct a systematic and authentic documentation of the bio-diversity of any forest,’’ claims Purandare, who came to the sanctuary on the request of Nisargavedh, an environment NGO based in Pune.‘‘I have noticed about 170 species of birds and spotted 11 tigers. I have closely watched the living world’s responses and behaviour in all the seasons,’’ says the 39-year-old. One of his special discoveries is the Roufous Bellied Hawk, which was never recorded in Nagzira earlier. ‘‘I have also noted the arrival and departure times of migratory birds like the Gray Wagtail which comes here from the Himalayas.”Purandare watches the animals from small hideouts made of grass. ‘‘This enables me to observe their natural manners,’’ he explains, adding that he stayed for two days at one such hideout in Umbarzara. These were fraught with danger. For instance, while returning to one of his hideouts, he noticed a tiger’s pugmarks at the entrance. While most would have turned away, Purandare was simply disappointed at having missed the chance to ‘‘put my hand on the tiger’s back’’.Another time, from a hammock on the tree-top, he watched a fight between two sloth bears. ‘‘The tiger won’t attack you as you are not his natural prey. The sloth bear is unpredictable but I think I can take care of myself,’’ he says.The source of his confidence: his unflinching commitment to his work for 22 years. ‘‘I walk these grassy routes in a state of trance. Even in my dreams, I am with the wild,’’ he says. Since birds are his primary area of interest, it is hardly surprising that Purandare claims to have seen 1,000 of the 1,200 avian species found in India. He says he can identify all the 8,000-plus bird species across the globe.Purandare, who has written 11 books on wildlife, credits his wife Anagha and daughter Sai, for his success.
