Jungle Safari with Desh
The natural beauty of wildlife is one of the most fascinating things for any ardent lover of nature. Gifted by mother Earth, this valuable asset requires constant preservation and conservation to be witnessed by our younger generations in the future. One such place that holds great importance is the national parks. Among them, Ranthambore National Park contributes to multiplying the existing value with its inhabitants.
Desh
Having served as an IT manager for a newspaper named Rajasthan Patrika, Deshbandhu has always had a special place for wildlife sanctuaries. It’s when his mother was posted to a village near Ranthambore National Park that his curious mind started wandering. Not aware of the various sounds of wild animals during the night, he asked the caretaker of the bungalow regarding the same that led him to come to know about the existence of the Ranthambore National Park, not far away from the place itself. Thereafter, going to Ranthambore for seven years urged him to continue his passion for wildlife by forcing him to leave his full-time job and settle somewhere near to the forest, in the lap of nature.
Devoid of any artificiality, this forest is endowed with all things natural, combining both flora and fauna along with the beauty of wild species including leopards, tigers, mongooses and deer. Visiting it any time of the day provides the audience with something new. Its unpredictable nature is the prime factor determining his excitement towards this forest. He has spent half of his life doing wildlife and preserving them himself along with the other members, providing him with vast knowledge about the jungle.
With his experience of wildlife so far, he can now individually identify near about fifty per cent of the tigers and wild animals inhabiting the forest. On his arrival to this place, there were only forty tigers which have now increased to seventy, consisting of four generations of tigers.
He has come across several interesting incidents in the jungle in his twenty-two years journey intensifying his love and dedication towards wildlife and their preservation. One such incident was the death of T5, the mother tiger leaving her cubs. The motherless cubs were then looked after by their father T25. It’s very rare to witness such an event because usually, the mother raises the cubs, but for a father to do the same was beyond everyone’s imagination.
His USP’s in the field of wildlife is the huge knowledge of wildlife and Ranthambore itself. Having spent the maximum time of his life here in this place has helped him to gather information about every area of the forest. Studying the behavioural pattern of the animals allowed him to understand the whereabouts of these species, further helping him to guess the presence of tigers which become possible only through the alarming sound of the remaining wild species.
His closeness with nature also impelled him to stay away from his family, based at Jaipur. It’s only twice a month that he manages to visit his lovely family. Having said that, being away from his family and staying close to nature has provided him with the best experiences that one can enjoy in their lifetime. His love and care for animals and birds have made him feel at home, thereby dedicating his whole life to this jungle.
Intending to safeguard the tigers, he has tried his best to protect them. Long back there was a time when news spread that there are only fourteen hundred tigers left in India. A concerning issue for every Indian, it was the dire need of that time to prevent our country’s heritage from becoming a completely extinct species.
With an end in poaching and constant conservation, now there are three thousand tigers in the forest. Not only this, but he has also tried his best to teach the people of nearby villages about the same and has helped the forest department by providing them with the necessary information in the best possible way. An unending process, conservation work is still going on to keep the balance of wildlife intact. With this he has now lived a major part of his life in the forest, wishing to do the same for the rest of his life to save the tigers.